NORDSON GREEN EARTH FOUNDATION, INC. (NGEF) is a private foundation organized in 1996 by Negrense lawyer-philanthropist Nordy P. Diploma. NGEF's core advocacy is the re-greening of Negros Island by recreating natural forest ecosystems in community tree parks and preserves, restoration and protection of forests against degradation as strategies for climate change resilience, adaptation and mitigation.
For almost two decades now, the Nordson
Forest Park has been dedicated to re-greening Negros Occidental and
preserving the environment for future generations. It is a real-world
laboratory replete with a Seedlings Bank, test beds for the assessment
of best-practices for forest development, and facilities and programs
developed in conjunction with the Negros Occidental Science High School.
In a low-lying area bordered by a stream, rice is planted
during the rainy season. Micro-dams simultaneously enable electricity to
be generated and aquaculture to take place. More recently,
‘agro-forestry’ practices, involving a mix of forestry and agriculture,
have been adopted through the cultivation of coffee beneath the forest
canopy. And walking trails interlace the forest and the Science High
School as pathways of discovery for students learning about the
environment, the forests, and agriculture.