Scouts South Africa came out in force on 5 September 2009 with the aim of planting 6,500 trees in support of a healthier planet. As part of a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) funded initiative, 600 Scouts from around Durban rolled up their sleeves and pitched in by planting trees at the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site, near Verulam on the north coast of Durban. They came a little short of their target but planted an amazing 5500 trees in half a day, contributing to the Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation Project. The project has been set up by the eThekwini Municipality’s Greening Durban 2010 Programme and DSW to help address the impacts on global climate that hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban will cause. 650 hectares of land around DSW’s regional landfill site will be re-forested through the project.
KZN Scouts Co-ordinator, Lorna Newman says, “This is about making a contribution, but also our youth learning about why its important to respond to climate change. The future is in their hands”.
UNEP has provided a $100,000 grant to the World Organisation of the Scout Movement for the planting of 65,000 trees by 10 National Scout Organisations worldwide to celebrate World Environment Day. Participating countries include Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, India, Brazil, Hungary, Ethiopia, South Africa and Lebanon. Dr Andrew Venter of the Wildlands Conservation Trust, the municipality’s implementation partner for the Buffelsdraai Community Reforestation project, has stated that the Scouts contribution to the initiative is just the start, “Scouts SA have an important role to play in getting youngsters out there making a difference around the issue of climate change, and the opportunities for extending this kind of initiative to other areas in South Africa are definitely there”.
The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site Community Reforestation project involves the local communities, in which more than 200 “Treepreneurs” produce the trees and exchange these for food, school fees and other basic goods. The first phase of the project, scheduled to be completed by July 2010, has been funded by DANIDA (the Royal Danish Embassy) and comprises the planting of 62,500 trees. The Comrades Marathon Association and its sponsor, Bonitas Medical Fund, also contributed an additional 13,000 trees to the initiative. With the contribution made by the Scouts, it is expected that 82,000 trees will have been planted by July 2010. This is expected to sink many thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
Prepared by Nicci Diederichs: Greening Durban 2010 Programme Co-ordinator ( Contact: 082 492 6804 )
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)