“Earth Night” is a concept pioneered by the Wildlands Conservation Trust as a way of fundraising for, celebrating and making people aware of, the conservation efforts of approximately 3000 community members in 60 communities around the country. The very first “Earth Night” event took place at The Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria on Friday the 20th of September, followed by the Johannesburg event held at The Ballroom at Montecasino on the 21st of September and the Cape Town event held at Spier on the 19th of October.
Activities throughout the evening at Spier included an Auction of 17 Lot’s, consisting of Travel Packages, Luxury Holidays and Art pieces, as well as a 3 course meal and an inspirational presentation by guest speaker, Lee Swan – a Sustainability & Climate Change Strategist, and the first African-born woman to have raced to the Magnetic North Pole.
Popular auction items included 2 unique rhino sculptures, both donated by Frans Groenewald and Portchie – local artists in high demand. Another exciting auction item, provided by the eLan Group, was for the Praia do Cossa Hotel & Resort in Mozambique, and gave bidders potential ownership of a sectional title unit at this resort for 1 week for 15 years. The auction is an integral part of any “Earth Night” event, as this is what ultimately raises much needed funds to continue the work of Wildlands Conservation Trust.
Three years ago PSG, Spier and Wildlands Conservation Trust entered into a partnership and started a “venture of faith” with a focus on extending the “Trees for Life” project into poor Western Cape communities.
The Wildland’s “Trees for Life” project educates and nurtures Tree-preneurs. These Tree-preneurs, based in rural areas, grow indigenous trees to barter for food, bicycles, Jojo tanks, education support and building material. The young trees bartered with Wildlands are then planted in areas in desperate need of reforestation or greening.
Leefreght Souls from Kalkfontein was one of the first community members to sign up to be a Tree-preneur. “I have 4 children of my own and 3 of my sister-in-law’s children, who my wife and I adopted when she passed away. When I barter my trees with Wildlands I want to buy food for my family and take them to enjoy a day out somewhere nice,” he said.
This project is flourishing with Tree-preneur nodes established in Tafelsig, Kalkfontein, Delft, Lynedoch, Meerlust and Eerste River. There are currently 181 active Tree-preneurs in this area who will barter over 25 000 trees this year.
“Leaf a Legacy” and the Stellenbosch Municipality have now also entered into a formal partnership with Wildlands, with a view to using the Tree-preneurs trees in their “Million Trees Campaign” and to expand the Tree-preneur footprint into additional “Stellenbosch” communities.
“Our intention is to transform this community into a benchmark sustainable community within the next 10 years,” said Wildlands CEO, Dr Andrew Venter. “This is a mammoth task given the poverty population pressures and environmental degradation, but it is possible– with your support and that of donors like Bonitas Medical Fund, PSG and Spier.”
“Our rich heritage of offering medical cover to all South Africans for over 31 years and our unmatched experience in providing affordable, quality healthcare ensures that Bonitas Medical Fund remains relevant to people from all walks of life,” commented Dr Bobby Ramasia, Principle Officer at Bonitas Medical Fund. “In this context Bonitas has partnered with the Wildlands Conservation Trust because it is aligned to our commitment to supporting life, the wellbeing of people, the community and, by extension, sustainability of the environment. In addition, the Wildlands Conservation Trust supports Bonitas’ ideals by being actively involved in projects that help uplift and restore both communities and the environment to health.”
“At PSG we are committed to acting as socially responsible company in our global community. This means that we will not only fully comply with the laws, rules and regulations of the countries in which we operate, but will go further by continually evaluating our business practices using the principles of sustainability,” said Willem Theron, Chairman of PSG Konsult Limited. “At the heart of sustainability lies the desire to maintain a balance between the economic, environmental and social needs of our world today, without compromising on the opportunities of future generations.”
The next “Earth Night” event will take place at the Elangeni Hotel on the 9th of November in Durban.
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)