By Tatiana Onofre
What started as a tiny green icon in your GCash app is now getting students’ shoes muddy in the best possible way.
Yes, we’re talking about GForest—that tree-hugging, climate-saving, tap-to-plant feature you’ve probably scrolled past while buying load. But it turns out, those little “Green Energy Points” you’ve been racking up just might be helping reforest the country—and more recently, the mangrove-lined coast of Negros Oriental.
Welcome to Silliman University, where GForest has officially gone from virtual to very real. Thanks to Globe’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, what was once a digital dream has evolved into the Silliman University G-Exchange, Inc. (SU-GXI) Reforestation Project—a living, breathing (and occasionally swampy) initiative that puts students right in the middle of the reforestation effort.
Every time you use GCash to pay bills, buy load, or send money, you earn Green Energy Points. These points allow users to grow virtual trees within the app. And for each virtual tree planted, GCash and its partners plant a real tree in one of their designated reforestation sites across the country.
Since 2019, GForest has contributed to the planting of over 2.5 million trees, restoring vital ecosystems like forests and mangroves. The program also creates livelihood opportunities for local farmers and communities, using technology not just for convenience but for environmental impact.
At Silliman, the SU-GXI Reforestation Project represents the on-the-ground counterpart of this digital movement. Based on campus, the project’s team of staff and coordinators has worked closely with students to actively involve them in conservation efforts.
In a recent event, two groups of volunteering students were deployed to support the project: one conducted a coastal cleanup in Dumaguete’s mangrove area, while another participated in a tree-planting activity in Zamboanga.
Although many participants came from the Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences (IEMS), students from other colleges, like the College of Performing and Visual Arts (COPVA), also joined the activities, showing a growing interdisciplinary interest in sustainability.
Project staff shared that they remain open to expanding their efforts and are encouraged by the growing student involvement in environmental work. The SU-GXI Reforestation Project stands as a reminder that corporate social responsibility can go beyond branding—especially when it nurtures community partnerships and hands-on participation.
So the next time you’re in GCash and see that little GForest icon—tap it. What starts on your screen just might help grow a forest, one tree at a time.
