Greening up primary schools and youth centres

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GEORGE NEWS - Precious Tree Project, a non-profit organisation based in Wilderness, has been involved in the rehabilitation and assisted reforestation of identified wildlife corridors running through private properties between Wilderness and Sedgefield for several years, in recognition of the real need to protect our natural Garden Route forest biome.

"Raising awareness around the importance that trees and forests play in the bigger picture of our own health and well-being, is a vital part of the process," says Melissa Dalton, founder and head of the project.

"Since we rely solely on sponsorship and donations to support our goals, we were delighted to be able to partner up with the Youth Wing (Africa Chapter) of the World Memon Organisation (WMO) over the past eight months in a tree-planting and environmental awareness initiative at primary schools in underprivileged communities in George."

The following 10 schools and learning centres were selected to participate in the activity: Mzoxolo Primary and Pre-Primary School, Dellville Park, Touwsranten, Conville, Parkdene, New Dawn Park and Thembalethu Primary schools, as well as Rondevlei Learning Centre and Life Community Services Centre.

PHOTO GALLERY: Learners educated about trees

The children were eager to plant the trees.

Each outreach started with a short breathwork activity with the learners, followed by a general discussion around the benefits of trees and their importance.

"It was not surprising that the common perceived benefit of trees to the majority of these young learners was wood for fire and material to build their homes, since most of them live in areas that are observably absent of trees," says Dalton.

After a group discussion, the learners at each school then eagerly participated in planting 33 trees (endemic and fruit) in preselected positions across their school grounds.

Doing their bit to green up their school grounds.

As part of the natural sciences curriculum, and in partnership with the ground staff, the learners will be involved in the maintenance and care of the trees over the school year.

"A big thank you to WMO's Youth Wing for the opportunity to engage with these young learners and open their eyes a little wider to the numerous benefits of trees. We could not have done this without their support," says Dalton.

For more information on the Precious Tree Project, visit their website.

The Precious Tree Project rolled out their tree-planting and environmental awareness initiative at primary schools in underprivileged communities in George over the past eight months.