KNP hands out medicinal trees to Mangweni community
Residents were recently gifted medicinal trees and encouraged to plant and use them during an Arbor Week outreach project by the Kruger National Park (KNP).
MANGWENI – The KNP’s general manager of people and conservation, Ms Helen Mmethi, visited the area and handed out over 180 plants to learners of Lugedlani Primary, neighbouring schools as well as to residents.
The trees of the year, the Ebony (rare) and buffalo thorn (common) were planted as part of the Arbor Week mission, and all the stakeholders who attended the event received an indigenous tree.
KNP partnered with the school last year and are planning to provide more trees to it and the surrounding communities.
“We encouraged villagers to plant these medicinal trees in their backyards to strengthen the school project and to boost their health, as they could provide herbs, roots, twigs and bark for the soothing and healing of many common standard ailments,” Mmethi said.
The KNP manager also encouraged role players including Nkomazi Local Municipality, Inkomati Usuthu Catchment Management Agency and other government departments and community members to rally behind the project. She also encouraged the recipients of the trees to look after them as they are endangered because of their their medicinal value.
The KNP engages with community forums and other committees in villages bordering the park to help them come up with ideas to develop and implement sustainable greening projects.
The projects are part of the government’s expanded public works programme, which are part of the KNP’s strategy to empower bordering communities both economically and socially.
The KNP plans to hand over and plant around 1 000 trees in various communities bordering the park in celebration of Arbor Month.
