In the business hub of Cagayan de Oro City is a shopping mall called Lim Ket Kai. What makes this shopping center stand out from other malls is the design of the whole commercial center which incorporates green landscape consisting of trees that line the surrounding roadsides and their islands.
The business
area was once hectares of coconut grove that was transformed into a shopping
center in the early 70’s. Coconuts trees were cut down to pave the way for the
construction of buildings and roads to connect the place to other roads of the
city. Along the roads with the center islands were planted saplings of introduced
mahogany, narra and camansi or bread fruit.
The development
of the shopping area affected the environment surrounding it. Bitan-ag creek,
which ran through the property of the business complex and was once a habitat
for freshwater fishes were concreted at both sides of its banks to make its
water run through a fixed course. The creek now looks just like an ordinary
canal with dirty water filled with trash.
Most of the
trees that were planted are now big and adorn the outdoors of the massive commercial
area. Trees are a wonder of creation and naturally beautiful. The green color
of their leaves symbolizes life and growth and is pleasing to the eyes. Trees
provide many benefits to people even in an urban environment such as along
streets or malls.
Trees clean
the air of the surrounding environment by absorbing carbon dioxide that comes
from smoke and other pollutants in their leaves and branches. Through the
process of photosynthesis, the trees use the energy of sunlight and convert it
to chemical energy to process carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and
oxygen which is the air that we breathe. In other words, trees are air cleaner
and fresh air provider.
Trees are
natural air conditioners. They cool the surrounding areas by blocking
sunlight with their canopy thus providing shade to the people and cooling the
ground surface. Trees absorb water through their roots and bring it back upward
through the stems and leaves and release it back into the air through the tiny
pores of the leaves. The emitted water vapor cools the surrounding air
temperature.
Tree roots
can hold soil together and absorb some amount of water during heavy rains thus their disastrous effects such as floods and soil erosion can be mitigated. Without
trees water runoffs flow directly into the waterways and floodings will result.
Even in an urban
environment such as a shopping center the trees create an ecosystem. They need soil,
sunlight, air and water to survive. Where there are trees there are also other
living organisms and animals that interact with them to live. The flowers of
the trees are visited by bees and other insects for their nectar and leaves and
fruits for foods. Birds such as the native zebra doves and others prey on those
insects. Beneath the ground are roots where creatures such as earthworms and
other microorganisms have symbiotic relations with each other to survive. Their
presence enriches the soil and benefits the trees and other plants on the ground
surface.
