Oriental Mindoro is a pioneering travel destination in the Philippines committed to natures landscapes including Puerto Galera. Over at nearby Mount Halcon, indulge in reforestation activities at the country’s third highest peak. It is a favourite destination for nature tripping and mountain climbing. Sign up with the Halcon Heritage Forest Museum at San Teodoro, The Halcon Heritage Forest Museum’s advocacy is the conservation of biodiversity through trees, specifically from alien species invasion. The project hopes to bring back the indigenous trees which had been depleted as a result of these invasions.

At The Halcon Heritage Forest Museum you will see a collection of endemic and indigenous tree species and help preserve the 500-hectare forest land at the foothills of Mount Halcon. This project will not only be a collection of trees, but will also provide a means of livelihood for those living in communities around the project site. The Halcon Heritage Forest Museum project aims to be the source of explorations for multi-level cultural and scientific legacies of the Filipino.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Production of Planting Materials —Volunteers will be involved in seed and wildling collection and process preparation of seedbed and sowing of seeds, potting of seeds and wildlings, and planting of processed wildlings in pots.

  
  

• Plantation Establishment — Volunteers will be involved in the preparation of planting site—site brushing/clearing, staking, hole digging, and hauling of plating materials. Volunteers will also be involved in planting of indigenous and endemic tree species for the Forest Museum.

• Biodiversity Inventory/Monitoring — Volunteers will be involved in the documentation of plant and animal life in Mt. Halcon Heritage Forest Museum. Activities for the documentation are the setting up of sampling plots, collection of Flora and Fauna specimens and the processing of collected specimens.

  
  
  

• Mangrove Planting — For those who are not into trekking, volunteers can help in the expansion of the mangrove area in order to sustain the mangroves along the coastline of Punta Beach. Protecting the mangroves is vital in providing the people living along the coastline with livelihood.

  
  

OTHER INTERESTING PLACES IN ORIENTAL MINDORO: Puerto Galera, Tamaraw Falls, Tukuran River