The first living screen of green and toxic matter-absorbing plants will be established in the vicinity of Lucban Elementary School and Pines City High School Annex along Magsaysay Avenue.
Made of reinforced concrete, the structure will be decked with low maintenance Devil’s Ivy, red and green Syngonium, arrowheads, variegated green dwarf snake plant, two-side colored Moises in the cradle, and spider plants.
Touted as the green muffler, the group of plants exhibit anti-pollution characteristics. Devil’s Ivy, Moises in the Cradle, and snake and spider plants serve as air filters thus removing toxins while Syngoniums reduce volatile organic components, reduce airborne microbes and increase humidity. They are excellent ground covers, adaptable, easy to care for, colorful, and decorative.
Studies also show ground cover plants muffle noise which would benefit the academic community nearby and residents passing through the area daily.
The vertical garden is equipped with drip irrigation to ensure regular watering.
The P3.5-million project of the City Environment and Parks Management Office (Cepmo) is part of Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s seven-point agenda.
The project is considered a carbon sink.
Cepmo Assistant Head Marivic Empizo said vertical green structures are done due to a very limited space which had planners consider other ways and strategies to improve biodiversity and mitigate climate change in urban areas.
He said the implementation of similar gardens is recommended for the barangays, the academe, and private institutions for an increase in green buffer zones within the city.
Cepmo Wastewater and Hazardous Waste Management Division Head Wilbur Suanding said households and business establishments are also encouraged to maintain various species of plants in gardens to ward off air, water, and noise pollution.
Aside from the vertical gardens, landscaping of the plant boxes below the flyover along Magsaysay Avenue will be implemented. – Julie G. Fianza
April 20, 2024
