Trees planted in celebration of Nature Conservation Day
World Nature Conservation Day was celebrated on July 28.
This day is often celebrated at schools by planting trees or other nature conservation actions.
The men’s breakfast group of the Heidelberg Methodist Church (HMC) saw this as an opportune time to donate trees to Mountain View High School in Bergsig. Because 28 July was exam day for the school, the function was held on August 7.
The trees were donated to the HMC Men’s Breakfast Group by the African Climate Reality Project (ACRP) and the donation was facilitated by Food & Tree for Africa (FTFA), a non-profit organisation that promotes community-greening and food security projects.
FTFA receive donations for plantings of trees from many organisations for the encouragement of carbon offset projects and ACRP.
FTFA also assists with launching projects that build communities to better self-support them with growing vegetables, plants and trees and care for the environment in sustainable ways. Hugo de Koningh, a member of the men’s breakfast group and known by FTFA approached the organisation to facilitate the donation.
De Koningh had his company in the renewable energy field and was invited by FTFA to attend the African Climate Leadership Corps meeting with Al Gore held in 2014.
The ACRP promotes awareness of the causes of global warming and ways and ideas to mitigate global climate change by taking actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The men’s breakfast group has the same mission as the church to serve others and to love and care for people and for God’s creation, which includes all living creatures and plants that is our fauna and flora,” de Koningh said.
Four wild olive trees and one pom-pom tree were planted. Those trees are hardy and indigenous. The wild olive tree does not grow very tall and the olives are not edible.
The pom-pom tree doesn’t grow tall either, but flowers nicely.
