In a bid to champion a greener Mzansi and solidify a viable future for the socio-economic and environmental well-being of our youngest citizens, BLUU Car Rental and Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA’s) have partnered to plant 5 000 trees throughout the country.
To kickstart the initiative, BLUU Car Rental and FTFA went to Skeen Primary School in the Gauteng township of Alexandra to plant 1 000 trees.
FTFA, a non-profit social enterprise, is working towards a healthier, food secure future through developing programmes and initiatives that address climate change and greening. They also promote natural resource management, organic farming and food security, and sustainable enterprise development.
According to FTFA’s events and distribution manager, Susan Evans, forests and other green spaces are referred to collectively as “green infrastructure” and provide multiple “ecosystem services”.
“By supporting natural solutions such as reforestation and urban tree planting, BLUU Car Rental is lending a helping hand to fast-depleting resources, while positioning themselves as industry leaders in the fight against climate change,” Evans says.
Evans says that projects like reforestation and urban tree planting plays a vital role in regulating our climate, and especially during extreme weather events like drought and flooding. “Tree planting efforts are a triple win for society, improving livelihoods, absorbing and storing climate-altering greenhouse gases (GHGs), and providing habitat for species which increases biodiversity and the health of ecosystems.”
The remaining 4 000 trees will be planted in various areas of the Eastern and Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal as well as at FTFA’s reforestation project in the Kologha Forest in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape.
Forests are a lifeline for the future
Through FTFA, over 4.7 million trees have been planted, thousands of schools and community gardens have been developed and hundreds of market gardens and farms are supported. FTFA has been in South African social development for more than 31 years and is a pioneer within climate change response and food security.
Lindsay Versfeld, marketing and partnership manager at BLUU Car Rental says, “BLUU Car Rental selected FTFA’s tree planting initiatives because we want to make a difference in the community, and we believe that education about environmental issues and climate change are key to ensuring a greener planet for all.”
Meanwhile, Evans adds, “We recognise that a purposeful approach and scale are key to the effectiveness of these programmes and ensuring we are making a meaningful impact. Approximately 1845,02 tonnes of carbon will be sequestrated by BLUU Car Rental’s donation of 5 000 trees.”
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