Plant a Tree. Leave a Legacy
Overstrand Municipality has committed to plant 160 trees during Arbour Month at schools, sport fields and public open spaces across the Overstrand.
The trees were kindly donated by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) as part of the Ten Million Trees Programme, a project that aims to plant at least two million trees each year, for five years across South Africa.
Last week, learners at De Bron Primary School in Stanford rolled up their sleeves and got digging to assist the Municipality’s Parks Department in planting 70 Sand Olive trees (Dodonea angustifolia) outside the school, along the boundary fence to beautify the area and to kerb dust from the dirt road outside the school.
Overstrand Ward 1 Councillor, Dudley Coetzee, asked the learners to adopt the trees and to make sure that the trees are watered and cared for. “By planting one tree, we are expressing positive thoughts and hope…even if we are not there tomorrow, the trees we planted today will be there,” he said.
Principal of De Bron Primary, Lionel Pedro was impressed to learn that the Overstrand Municipality is taking part in the Trees in Cities Challenge in support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) commitment in building sustainable, more resilient, and greener cities for tomorrow.
Trees suited to our climate are, amongst others, the Tarchonanthus camphoratus (Camphor bush or Vaalbos as it is known here), Celtis africana (White stinkwood) or the Harpephullum caffrum (Wild plum).