BETIKAMA Adventist College is the latest school in Honiara City to jump on-board the Pan Oceanic Bank’s (POB’s) Tree Planting Project.

This is part of POB’s Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) Project to schools in and around Honiara.

A Tree Planting ceremony to mark the commemoration of the project was conducted at the school compound, last Friday.

A total of 600 trees were planted by the staff and students of the school, with assistance from the POB staff and those of the Ministry of Forestry and Research.

The Seventh – day Adventist (SDA) owned school now joins Selwyn College, King George IV, St Joseph Tenaru and St Matins Technical College, and Don Bosco Technical Institute (DBTI) as champions of the project.

According to the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the Pan Oceanic Bank (POB) Mr Adrian Nigel, they have distributed 1,690 plants among four schools in Honiara in 2016.

The trees that were planted as part of the project were Mahogany and teak trees.

Don Bosco becomes the first school to be part of the project this year, followed by Betikama College.

The total amount of schools now joining the tree planting campaign is six.

“We are very proud and pleased of our CSR project as it contributes towards Capacity building for a Sustainable Forest Resource Management.”

“Our main objective under this year’s CSR project is to distribute 2,400 plants such as Mahogany and teak among schools, organisations, and communities as part of our commitment towards reforestation,” the COO, Adrian Nigel said.

He added, one may wonder why they decided to distribute plants through their CSR project.

“Forestry is the main sector that contributes heavily to the national economy and these natural resources need to be managed with great care in this country for the benefit of the future generation.”

He also said that they are happy to partner with the Ministry of Forestry and Research, in the CSR Tree Planting project.

The COO of POB said, as a locally incorporated bank, POB is proud and excited about the project, saying that it can help Betikama Adventist College to become self-sustainable and contributed effectively towards the future of this nation.

“I want to urge you to take care of these trees that are being plated and make use of them as they have full potential to make you and your college fully independent and contribute towards the country’s national economy.

“Congratulations to all of you for becoming a POB Tree Planter and ready to contribute towards the country’s national economy.

“Let’s empower the nation together,” says Mr Nigel.

–POB PRESS