A greener future for Mataffin
Thirty local businesses and partners of the public sector came together to plant trees at two schools, a church and the Woodhouse Community Care Base as part of a Arbor Day initiative.
MBOMBELA – The city’s private and public sectors came together for Arbor Day last week, to contribute their time and energy to the Mataffin community.
Thirty local businesses teamed up with the management of Woodhouse Community Care Base. The day was hosted in partnership with the City of Mbombela, Eskom, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) and Transnet.
It was well received by residents of the area. The initiative sought to assist the beneficiaries of the centre and surrounding community by providing 80 trees and the manpower to plant them.
This was followed by a lunchtime braai for the children of Woodhouse Crèche.
According to the founder and centre manager, Amon Ngwamba, the day was about working to change the lives of the members of the community.
“We are here to assist the poorest of the poor. This initiative will truly make a difference, as we are leaving a living legacy today.”
The day was not only about planting trees and featured an insightful presentation on the history and importance of Arbor Day by Thabo Zulu from the MTPA.
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“Unlike other holidays in our country, Arbor Day is about the future, as trees continue to grow, providing oxygen, shelter, building material and in some cases medicine to local communities,” said Zulu.
“As the MTPA we want to spread a message of preservation to the people of the Mataffin community, and urge them to care for and continue to plant indigenous trees,” he said.
The organiser of the event, Estelle Roe of Junxion Communications, said they chose to plant fruit trees at the two schools, a local church and the care base. “Residents can benefit from the fruit and hopefully use it to start local businesses. We tend to do things in isolation when we reach out to our local communities, but today it’s about bringing people together to pool our resources and skills,” she said.
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Councillor of Ward 14, Kenneth Mkhonto was very pleased with the initiative. “Every time you plant a tree you are planting life. Every day should be Arbor Day, so I want to challenge the new generation to play their part in addressing climate change by continuing to plant trees where they live.”
Deputy municipal manager responsible for auxiliary services, Sphetho Mhlongo, said that the municipality was grateful for the partnerships that were established through the initiative.
“This is more than just a one-day event. It is about building awareness and educating people, and therefore it forms part of our ongoing initiative to develop this community. To us this is a good example of thinking globally and acting locally,” he said.
