Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) will be planting 1500 trees at the newly built Lerato Park, Kimberley on 24 March 2017. This initiative has been made possible by the funding from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) of a substantial amount of R249 600. The trees will be planted in the newly built low-income development of Lerato Park in Kimberley. Some of 100 homeowners only received their title deeds in December 2016 - and are now receiving trees to beautify and shade their new homes.

This planting takes place shortly after South Africa’s Humans Rights Day and the International Day of the Forests which both fall on the 21 March 2017. This tree planting provides an opportunity to commemorate Human Rights Day in South Africa and also bolster the environmental rights of those living in the Lerato Park community.

“In a few years, we expect to revisit the community and be greeted with tree lined streets, hanging with fruit. The trees have the potential to shade and cool the suburb and purify the air - eventually creating an urban forest for the benefit of all residents.” Says Emily Jones, FTFA’s Trees and Carbon Manager

Violet “Mam Vi” Mabaso is an entrepreneur in Alexandra Township in Gauteng, who is an integral part of the Molobanyane Co-operative. The co-op was started 5 years ago and she has been the secretary since 2012. While part of the co-op from inception, Mam Vi took an active role from 2014 in the garden and the turnaround has been visibly evident. Coming from a background in farming, she has many years of experience from the traditional methods of her parents and grandparents. She has become the life force of the garden and has been on site every day since. With the assistance of FTFA and various government departments, she has learned new skills to add to her vast inherited knowledge. Her learned profession is interior designing, yet her passion has become her vegetable and herb garden.

 

Food & Trees for Africa is celebrating the International Day of the Forests this month by planting at least 2980 trees nationwide. FTFA is focussing on urban forests, which play a critical role in improving the urban environment and cooling it down. According to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gauteng’s average temperatures are increasing at double the rate of global average temperatures. Gauteng will witness an average temperature increase of 1-2 degrees Celsius by 2035, and 3-6 degrees increase by the end of the century. Gauteng’s temperature increases are attributed to climate change trends globally as well as the Heat Island Effect experienced by cities. National temperatures are also increasing at an accelerated rate.

According to the World Food Programme, “Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of hunger. One person in four… is undernourished. One in four of the world's children [here] are stunted. In developing countries, the proportion can rise to one in three.”

With the support of the Woolworths Trust, the EduPlant Programme is continuing to address Food Security needs at under-resourced schools around SA.