Arroceros Forest Park

The 2.2 hectare mini forest is surely a

haven for city slickers to enjoy and an escape
from the chaotic city. It used to be an abandoned
riverside lot until in 1992, the city government
purchased it for 60 million pesos to turn it into a
public park.

Considered as the Old Manilas last

lung, an urban oasis of 60 tree species and 6 bird
species has survived over three centuries of
breakneck urban development and, years after destruction due to uncaring governance of
succeeding leaders, seventy percent of the trees were cut down to make way for the construction
of a government building. Thanks to political change and the stalwart efforts of conservation
groups, the city still breathes today.

Arroceros Forest Park located along Antonio Villegas Avenue in the district of Ermita. Cultural
shows, tree planting, painting sessions and other social activities are held regularly in the park
grounds especially during weekends.

La Mesa Eco Park

The 33 hectare ecological park is a
part of 2,659 hectare La Mesa watershed, a
protected area located in the Northern
fringes of Quezon city, Caloocan,
Rodriguez, Rizal. Surrounded by 50
kilometers of nature trails, La Mesa Eco
park serves as the lungs of Metro Manila
and a home to a variety of indigenous and
endemic species of flora and fauna.

Its forest serves as an important breeding

area for a variety of wildlife species and
birds such as the little heron, black-crowned night heron, osprey, Japanese sparrowhawk, plain
bush-hen, common moorhen, Eurasian coot, Philippine coucal, Philippine nightjar, island
swiftlet, spotted wood kingfisher, common kingfisher, white-collared kingfisher, Philippine
pygmy woodpecker, barn swallow, pied triller, ashy minivet, Philippine bulbul, black-naped
oriole, Oriental magpie robin, Arctic warbler, grey-streaked flycatcher, pied fantail, yellow-
bellied whistler, grey wagtail, brown shrike, olive-backed sunbird, and lowland white-eye.
The most common tree species found in the reservation are Malay beechwood, earleaf acacia,
acacia mangium, narra, mahogany, teak, ipil-ipil, alibangbang and bangkal.

Manila Zoo
The Manila Zoological and Botanical
Garden, 5.5 hectare zoo opened in 1959,is a
home to many plant collections and thousands of
animals. Among which are 30 different kinds of
mammals, 63 reptile species and 13 types of
birds. In addition to popular zoo occupants such
as elephant, tigers, lions and the hippos, Manila
Zoo also houses several endemic and indigenous
species of animals like the bearcat, long-tailed
macaques and crocodiles.

It is located in Malate which serves as one of the educational centers in Manila where
visitors discover facts about the flora and fauna of the Philippines.