21/08/2026
Late post but worth sharing!๐ Thank you BLOOM - CLC for the articles for our tree bank and Dr. Benson!๐ฉท BLOOM are students scholars from Philippine Science High School Central Luzon Campus. This student organization is promoting environmental stewardship by fostering awareness, responsibility and supporting biodiversity conservation.
โ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐
San Fernando, Pampanga โ like most urbanized cities in the Philippines โ is a place made of road and infrastructure, with buildings that were not quite as big as those in Metro Manila, still define much of its landscape. It held none of the lush greenery that mountainous places had, dotted only by the green and brown of the occasional farmland and vacant lot. But along one of its major roads, the McArthur Highway at km 77, is a two-hectare large patch of green, full of plants that were previously thought to be incompatible with Philippine climate. This is Wilsonโs Tree Bank, one of the longest running propagator and supplier of plants in the Philippines.
Established by the Aboujafari family in 1987, Wilsonโs Tree Bank has spent years maintaining a wide collection of native trees, naturalized plants, superior cultivated varieties, and imported acclimatized plants. The tree bank works with several institutions for their landscaping, and has several labs where they conduct research on plant pathology and work towards the acclimatization of imported plants that could boost country health and economy. It is, by all means, successfulโbut it would not be where it is had it not been for its manager, Dr. Benson.
Dr. Benson Aboujafari is a plant pathologist and horticulturist who finished his bachelor in science, masters, and doctorate in De La Salle Araneta University. Having graduated with a doctorate in plant pathology, Dr. Benson immediately set his sights on innovating technology that would give imported plants the ability to grow despite the Philippinesโ tropical climate. One of his first successful plant acclimatizations was the mulberry, a plant valued for its antioxidant-rich leaves and fruit that support heart health and immunity. He later improved the fig, which once produced no edible fruit, further widening the range of health-giving plants that could be grown locally.
These successes however were not met without struggle. A Turkish national who had lived in Turkey his entire life before pursuing his studies in the Philippines, Dr. Benson first had to overcome a significant language barrier. It was not just one language that he had to learn; he had to learn both English and Filipino in order to properly communicate his knowledge and studies. Once the language barrier was no longer the problem, he was met with disapproval from officials that thought his plant acclimatization practices would place the economical value of other plants here at risk.
Despite these hardships, Dr. Benson persevered. He held onto his long-standing belief that if you faced life with courage and a clear purpose, then kindness would eventually find its way back to you. โAs long as you are righteous, then Godโwhoever you may believe inโwill surely grant it to you,โ he says with the smile of a man who has finally reached the dreams he once chased.
Until now, he continues his work at the tree bank, still surrounded by the plants he nurtures and still striving to bring more species into the Philippines. Dr. Benson embodies the tree bankโs mission to propagate plants for the future, as well as its vision for a country that not only cares for the environment, but believes that the Earthโs future rests in humanityโs hands.
โ๐ป: Lexie Mancao โ - BLOOM-CLC
