Seedling Banks to Reverse Global Warming

by Rainier A. Ibana*

Two weeks ago, the Rev. Fr. Cezar M. Echano, beloved Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist in Daet, Camarines Norte, sent some seeds from the fruits that he consumed while in Davao City. Since I was not around, our helper placed them on the drier in preparation for planting. As soon as I arrived, I immediately inserted some of the durian seeds into the soil since they might accumulate molds from the left-over pulps which were not peeled by our helper. One week later, roots began to come out of the seeds. I then brought them out of the shade so that leaves can spring out from them.

The best part of planting is when leaves sprout from the shell that has long embraced its kernel. I usually visit our backyard in the morning to look for seedlings that might need help in coming out to the world of light, air and water. I sometimes forget my temporality during these morning rituals as I bend down to unwrap these sprouting gifts of creation. Taking away the shells and allowing the sprouts to spring out into the air remind me of Michaelangelo’s painting that depicts God the Father touching the tip of Adam’s pointing finger during the early moments of creation.


It takes a while before these seeds can come out of their shells. Sour sops (Guyabanos) take more than fifteen days to emerge and sometimes one already feels the verge of disappointment before their fragile stems awkwardly push out the head-shaped seeds from the soil. It will take another week before the empty shells are pushed out and one is tempted to intervene by peeling the pods from the emerging buds. But an early intervention might damage the plant while a later one might no longer be needed as the leaves will naturally spit out the shell that has enslaved them for too long.


Cacao and santol seeds, on the other hand, spring out like water fountains that have long been suppressed by large and heavy rocks from the soil. They sprout in a matter of days and they grow on their own for as long as the cacao seedlings are not over-exposed to the scorching heat while santol stems become sturdier the more they are struck by the sun’s bright rays. Each type of seed has its own peculiar needs in order to flourish.

Papayas, I discovered, are very delicate. One cannot merely throw them anywhere for them to grow on their own. They need a special place where the rays of the morning sun can penetrate the darkness that engulfs them and their roots can rot and wither from too much water. I found out that they grow best under the window sill where the morning light can bless them while the roof protects them from the rain. They can be transplanted only when their stems have become firm and their roots have not yet penetrated the soil too deeply. One has to dig carefully in order to keep the main roots’ grasp on the soil that has nurtured and nourished them.

I have recently consumed many kinds of fruits and planted their seeds depending on the seasons: malig-ang, mangoes and santol in the Summer; avocados in July, rambutans and lanzones in October and November; chicos, mabolos, atis, chesas, jackfruits, pomelos, mangosteens, sampalok, and other endogenous fruit-bearing seeds during particular months of the year. I have even ventured into growing exotic species such as longan, lychees and dates in order to someday relish their succulent pulps. Helping them grow has become a part of the morning rituals that daily energize my body and spirit. Instead of merely jogging or doing calisthenics, I discovered that engaging the earth by putting soil in bags and carrying seedlings to spaces where light dawns on them are more fruitful ways of getting some physical exercise.

At the background of these gardening activities is the awareness that I am positively doing something in favour of the environment by creating more carbon sinks that will help cool down the earth and thus mitigate climate change and perhaps even reverse global warming. I would like to believe that these seedlings are growing much faster than they would normally do because they are also trying to catch up with the excessive carbons that have been released to the environment by our modern lifestyles. These oxygen producing organisms can indeed contribute to our efforts to cool down the earth and enhance the chances of survival for oxygen-consuming animals like ourselves.

If more people, like Fr. Echano, could deposit the seeds from the fruits that they have consumed in seedling banks like the one we have in our backyard and if we can institutionalize more of these seedling banks in our schools, parishes, town plazas, seminaries, homes and other vacant lots, then we can have a tremendous multiplier effect in preserving the integrity and sustainability of creation in our God-given corner of the planet.

We can perhaps better appreciate our daily contribution to the mitigation of climate change and our hope for the reversal of global warming trends if we view it within a larger planetary vision wherein our survival as Earthlings is intertwined with the future of Gaia, the mother Earth on whom we stand as she revolves around the sun and traverses our universe. As astronaut Michael Collins wrote about his experience of stepping on the moon:
“.... I looked back at my fragile home – a glistening, inviting beacon, delicate blue and white, a tiny outpost suspended in the black infinity. Earth is to be treasured and nurtured, something precious that must endure....”



*Rainier A. Ibana, a native of Daet, Camarines Norte, Chairs the Environmental Ethics Committee of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Science and Technology and currently serves as President of the Asia-Pacific Philosophy Education Network for Democracy. He has recently been reappointed by the President of the Philippines as a Member of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines wherein he serves as Vice-Chair of its Human and Social Sciences Committee. He is on leave as Full Professor of Philosophy at Ateneo de Manila University.