Burns Creek Adventist College becomes the third school in Honiara which had partnered with Pan Oceanic Bank’s (POB) Tree Planting project
This was part of its (POB) Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR),.
A ceremony to formally seal the partnership was held on Friday at the school.
In a statement yesterday POB said, “Burns Creek Adventist College becomes the third school that POB engaged with this year, and now joins another six education centers within Honiara and Guadalcanal in the project.”
As part of the deal a total of 600 seedlings of Mahogany trees will be planted within the school’s premises.
Speaking at the ceremony, POB’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Nigel Adrian said the bank is proud and pleased to include Burns Creek College as one of its tree planting recipient.
“This is the seventh education center that has accepted our invitation to plant trees and to be a partner of our CSR project.”
“We are very proud and pleased of our CSR project as it contributes towards capacity building for a Sustainable Forest Resource Management,” said Mr. Nigel.
Mr. Nigel said the main objective under the CSR project is to distribute 2,400 plants such as mahogany and teak among schools, organizations, and communities as part of the bank’s commitment towards reforestation.
Under this project, the POB bank is partnering with the Ministry of Forestry and Research (MoFR).
In her remarks on behalf of the MoFR Permanent Secretary, Ministry’s Principal Forestry Officer Minnie Fahu congratulated and sincerely thanked the POB for the excellent arrangement in encouraging tree planting with schools in the country.
“We are gathered here at Burns Creek School to witness and launch tree planting to develop a relationship between a school and a bank.”
“This launching again further strengthens reforestation and afforestation in the country in partnership with secondary schools.”
“And, I commend POB for this event,” Ms. Fahu said.
She added the students’ engagement in tree planting may be termed as afforestation, because they have quite a large area of grassland to rehabilitate towards the Lunga river bank.
Meanwhile the Burns Creek School Principal Francis Leovania also thanked POB and the Ministry of Forestry and Research for the initiative and described the occasion as ‘historical and memorable’.
“The initiative by the Pan Oceanic Bank (POB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry and Research (MoFR) to assist schools in planting of trees is a milestone not only for Burns Creek but other schools in Honiara and Solomon Islands.”
“It is a high and appropriate time to do this project because in the very near future we might spend a lot of money purchasing timbers for repair and maintenance and other needed job in the school.”
“We believe that this initiative and will continue with POB and the MoFR in such that will help the school in its physical, academic, and other infrastructure developments,” Mr. Leovania said.
On a similar note, the POB’s COO also wishes to thank the Principal of the school administration for accepting the bank’s proposal towards the tree planting project.
– POB MEDIA
