Food & Trees for Africa have been greening South Africa for the last 30 years; boosting food security by planting 4.6 million trees.
South Africa (08 September 2020) – Food & Trees for Africa is a leading NPO / PBO in South Africa that addresses food security and environmental sustainability through tree planting and greening, food gardens, permaculture, education and skills training, climate action, and more. The organisation was founded 30 years ago and has seen promising growth in South Africa.
Every year, Food & Trees for Africa plants between 25,000 and 35,000 trees in homes and communities around the country. In its 30-year existence, the organisation has planted more than 4.6-million trees.
“For us, planting trees is an act of hope. We are planting trees for the better future we dream of and are working hard towards: a prosperous, greener, food-secure South Africa for all.” – Food & Trees for Africa
They bump that number each year during Arbor Month. This year, they are planting more than 10,000 trees across South Africa. Planting a tree breeds hope because you will not get fruits or shade from it, in the beginning, you plant a tree so you can get fruits and shade in years to come. A tree is a glimpse into the future and a marker of the past.
In a lifetime filled with Septembers, you can plant a tree this year and track your personal growth and the tree’s growth, for the rest of your life! Emily Jones, who works for the Food & Trees for Africa, shared an empowering post about life, personal growth and planting trees in 2020 for Arbor month in South Africa.
‘People call the 1st of September ‘Spring Day’ in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s also Arbor Day, the start of Arbor Month, in South Africa.
In March, spring felt like forever away. An unattainable time at the end of a very long and scary looking winter. And now I’m here, we’re here. And it’s spring.
I love this day, this month, because I look back at all the Septembers that have come before. It’s a portal to all my previous springs. Where my seedlings were germinating, my flowers were blooming, and – more recently – I was helping to plant trees across South Africa.
But I’ve come to realise, these months are also a portal to the future. A portal to all my future springs. Especially with trees which will grow far beyond the summer season. Trees planted will connect me so physically to the past and future. Trees planted today will be a bit bigger next September, and the years after that they’ll start bearing fruit.
This plum tree was planted on the pavement this Saturday. I’ll return to it in a years time, and I’ll remember the year in which it was planted. I’ll remember the resilience I needed, the strength I drew on. I will remember what a mess I was. I’ll remember all that I learned. And I’ll notice that, much like the tree, without even trying to, I grew.”
So if you want to do something for Arbor month, plant your 2020 tree. Then you can mark each year that follows 2020, one of the toughest years that will be in our memories for a very long time! If you can’t plant a tree, you can donate to Food & Trees for Africa here, and they will gift one to someone on your behalf.
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