One thousand festival-goers got their hands dirty at Greenpop’s 7th annual Reforest Fest in the Platbos Forest Reserve near Gansbaai during March. Together with St George’s Grammar School and St Cyprian's School, they planted 8000 trees. Greenpop’s Tree-E-O Misha Teasdale:
“We dig it! A TREEmendous thanks to all families, friends and students who helped to plant 8000 trees. I am very happy to announce that we will be planting another 48,000 trees in Platbos the coming years.”
Over the last seven years, Greenpop has planted 42,000 trees to restore the Platbos Forest Reserve.
It’s in the numbers
8000 Milkwood, Stinkwood, Wild Olive and Pock Ironwood trees were planted in Platbos. Three hundred parents and children planted 2,005 trees during Family Weekend and 650 festival-goers planted 5,501 trees during Friends Weekend. Together they ate 5000 delicious vegetarian and vegan meals. The students of St George’s Grammar School and St Cyprian's School planted the last 500 trees in Platbos.
The Reforest Fest is aiming to become a zero waste festival. Waste-ED, a creative recycling organisation, created eco-bricks out of all non-recyclables generated at the festival. Reforest Fest also encouraged alternative transport to reduce emissions.
Eight people from the Peace Tree Pilgrimage walked from Caledon to Platbos, 86 kilometres and one festival-goer cycled 180 kilometres from Cape Town to Platbos. Maria Cronje cycled all the way from Mpumalanga!
Reforest Fest
The annual Greenpop Reforest Fest collaborates with Melissa and Francois Krige of the Platbos Forest Reserve and focuses on (re)connecting people with the forest. Greenpop mixes tree planting with fun, eco-workshops and music from South Africa’s best upcoming acts. The Reforest Fest is one of the biggest reforestation festivals in Southern Africa and is organised over two weekends: Family Weekend (10-12 March) and Friends Weekend (17-19 March).
Highlights this year were The Stone Jets, Kongo Elektro, the reunion of TouchWood, Trenton & Free Radical and The Brothers Remedy from the well-known band Crimson House. At the TEDx Cape Town Stage inspiring social change makers like international word poet, Kyle Louw, and fashion designer, Valerie Kahavarah, spoke about their journeys. Award winning actress, Nicola Jackman, performed MAfrika, a fantastic theatre piece that tells the story of Mother Earth, at the Family Fest and in Gansbaai for 600 community children.
Who is Greenpop?
Greenpop is a social enterprise on a mission to (re)connect people with the planet. They plant trees through urban greening and reforestation projects, spread environmental education, and activate people through green workshops and events.
Greenpop was founded in 2010 and has since planted over 70 000 indigenous and fruit trees at schools and other urban sites, community farms as well as forests across South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania. More than the number of trees, Greenpop is inspired by the thousands of hands that have helped to plant the trees and the further thousands that have joined Greenpop’s eco-education programmes and made a commitment to be custodians of our beautiful planet.
