By Phumzile Mahlangu
Breathing is a natural process that few people give a second thought towards. The clean fresh air that we often take for granted is made possible by trees, which convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. They are nature’s miracle and our defence against pollution, which is often present in our cities.
The importance of trees in our lives has inspired the government to annually mark Arbour Month in September and increase awareness on the importance of keeping our environment green. During this period, people across the country are encouraged to plant trees and to care for and manage all forms of vegetation in both urban and rural areas.
To celebrate Arbour Month which coincides with our nation’s 30 Years of Freedom and Democracy celebration, government through the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment planted 30 trees at the Forest of Freedom in Tshwane. These trees were also planted in honour of struggle stalwarts who contributed to our liberation struggle.
As part of the Arbour Month, we also planted trees at other various community parks within the City of Tshwane, including the Springbok Park in Hatfield, Fountains Valley Resort in the Groenkloof Nature Reserve and Kalafong Park in Atteridgeville.
The Kalafong Park was once a large hole excavated by the housing and construction developers for soil and sand. Today that community of Atteridgeville benefit from the park through the provision of open recreational space as well as a fitness park.
It highlights the importance of greening out townships and informal settlements which were previously developed without any parks, open spaces or food gardens. Greening townships and informal settlements contribute to making these living spaces beautiful and enhance quality of life. It will also restore biodiversity and helps our country become climate resilient.
The initiative to plant trees is led by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment which aims to plant at least 3 500 trees at various parks within the City of Tshwane by the end of the month. It also forms part of government Greening Programme that aims to plant at least two million trees every year around the country. To meet this target, we need communities including businesses, civil society and nongovernmental organisations around the country to take advantage of this opportunity to plant trees particularly indigenous trees in their neighbourhoods.
As we celebrate Arbour Month, we also highlight our nation’s champion trees which include some of the oldest, largest, and culturally significant trees. The oldest tree in South Africa is the Sagole Baobab, also known as “Big tree,” located in Limpopo province in Musina Local Municipality. Carbon dating determined the age of the tree to around 1 200 years old. This is the largest of all recorded baobabs listed on the champion tree list in the country and is the largest indigenous tree in South Africa. On the other hand, the tallest tree in South Africa with a height of 81.5m is the Sydney Blue Gums known as 'Magoebaskloof giant' in Haenertsburg in Limpopo.
Trees and plants are also crucial sources for building materials, medicine and food. South Africans can play their part in securing our food supply through planting home or community food gardens. If every person plants a small garden in their home, it can snowball into communities across the country providing for themselves and meeting their subsistence needs.
Your garden can also provide fresh nutritious produce for those who could not otherwise afford it and in doing so reducing the impact of hunger in our nation. Our country is rich with variety of indigenous foods in leafy vegetables such as Amaranthus, African nightshades, pumpkin, cabbage and spinach which can be planted and cultivated at home.
The effect of global warming is fast becoming one of the central challenges for this generation. Trees, plants and vegetation play an essential role in contributing to the health of the planet. Now is the time for us to do our part by adopting a green lifestyle to fight the impact of climate change and create a healthy environment for future generations.
Phumzile Mahlangu is Assistant Director: Communication Resource Centre at GCIS