The CJH Development Corporation (CJH DevCo) aims to give Camp John Hay’s forest the care required through a comprehensive program which includes inventory of all dead, dying and diseased trees and proper treatment system.

Meanwhile, more than twenty thousand trees have been planted at Camp John Hay and in areas within Baguio City which need reforestation like the Busol Watershed, Mt. Sto. Tomas, and areas within barangays. This is being made possible through the many groups who have forged a partnership with CJH DevCo to participate in its Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

The EMP is part of the conditions of the ECC for the John Hay project and it defines the institutional framework and mechanisms to ensure that the environmental protective measures are appropriately implemented. It was launched in 1998. Volunteer groups signed a Statement of Commitment with CJH DevCo to participate in the environmental efforts for CJH and Baguio.

The tree planting program is part of the Forest Management Plan, one of the six components of the EMP. The tree planting program is also in compliance with the ECC condition that for every tree affected by the development, one hundred trees have to be planted as replacement.

“We do not only aim to enhance Camp John Hay’s natural environment, but we would also like to contribute to the reforestation of the entire city,” said Alquiros.

“We are glad that there are civic organizations and schools that come to us and request for tree saplings which they plant either inside John Hay or in their respective areas. It is this manifestation of the communities’ sincere desire to keep CJH as their favorite playground for generations, that inspires us to work hard to maintain CJH and develop it within sustainable bounds.”

“We can imagine that by the time we turnover CJH to Government, CJH and Baguio will have more than a million trees. For us, the healthier the forests of CJH, the more we can attract tourists and the community to keep coming into CJH. After all, its forest is its greatest magnet,” he added

CJH DevCo is currently maintaining a plant nursery that houses around ten thousand pine saplings and more than five thousand various ornamental plant species.