To celebrate Youth Day the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF)  planted 1 800 fruit and indigenous trees for Mpumelelo, France, a settlement on the eastern outskirts of the deforested and semi rural landscape of Pietermaritzburg.

These are the last of 5 000 trees that were distributed in and around the settlement of France through the generous contribution of 45 000 trees from the NLDTF to Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA).

This final distribution follows closely behind World Environment Day, an annual event celebrated on 5 June by communities worldwide, that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action.

This Mpumelelo Trees for Homes project will add weight to this important initiative by implementing clean-up campaigns prior to the distribution of trees. The reason for this is to try to educate and increase awareness about illegal dumping, highlight the negative impact of littering, and show alternative environmentally friendly ways of recycling, reusing and reducing unwanted waste. This initiative will involve the Msunduzi Municipality Waste Management Department as they provide an ongoing service, providing and collecting refuse bags to households in order to manage their waste.

900 fruit and indigenous trees were distributed to residents on 15 June from Mpumelelo Crêche, in France. A further 900 trees were distributed at Siyazama Crêche on 17 June, in celebration of Youth Day, commemorating the start of the Soweto Riots of 1976, sparked off by a government edict that all instruction in black schools would be held in Afrikaans.

The iconic picture of Hector Pieterson, a black schoolchild shot by the police in Soweto near Johannesburg during a peaceful process march, brought home the brutalities of the Apartheid regime to many people within and outside of South Africa. In the weeks that followed over 700 people - mostly youth - were killed. Youth Day could be a conflict-ridden date, but instead it serves to remind South Africa of the importance of its youth and brings across the message that something like “the Soweto riots” should never happen again.

What better way to celebrate this day than through greening and cleaning activities that bring all generations and community members together to improve their environments, ultimately creating a better quality of life for future generation?