School Educational Workshops and Tree Planting Programme: The learners of Hoekwil Primary School were enthusiastic participants in our School Educational Program. After the planting, they were all given the opportunity to represent their newfound knowledge in a creative way.
These are some of the many beautiful creative interpretations we would like to share. Thank you to the staff and teachers for all the input and who helped make this event possible!
Mini Nursery Training Workshop: We organised a training workshop with Matt, from Six Kingdoms, this month to educate our enthusiastic bunch of Garden Route residents who have signed up into our Mini Satellite Nursery Program. They are all on board to locally grow endemic and indigenous forest trees on their properties for our future needs.
Thank you Matt for your input and for all the sponsors who make this possible – a percentage of your donation goes to training and education, and job creation. Much gratitude from all present!
We have concentrated much of our tree planting efforts on one section of Heartland Organic Farm. This month, we shifted our focus to a previously cleared area (primarily invaded by pine trees) and started our tree planting efforts on the northern side of the property.
More attention to this side over the past two years had to be given attention before we could begin our planting activities here, since the area not only had to be cleared of non-indigenous saplings springing up in their thousands after the fires and rains, but the soil (which had become too acid)had to be rehabilitated to ensure the right pH balance for our precious trees.
Volunteer Tree Planting: Precious Tree Project has been involved with Heartland’s rehabilitation process for almost 2 years this month. We spent Saturday afternoon on-site again, adding to the forest that we helped establish in 2017, and used the opportunity to assess it’s health. It is so heart-warming to see the rich growth that has taken place over two years and the high fertility of the soil in which these forest trees are being planted..
The more recent fires in October 2018 has meant a redirection of our attention to sites closer to home for the time being, but we left the site knowing that the forest is in good hands. We will be back!
Date: 26 January 2019
The efforts of PTP and the Heartland Organic Farm team have proven, over the last year and a half, that dedication, commitment and “heardt” work pay dividends.
While there is still much to be done in the Heartland Forest –and when it seems like we cannot plant enough trees or clear out enough of the non-indigenous saplings showing there merry little heads – we get to see, each time we go back, how the babies we have planted have taken root and are strong and healthy.
We added 50 more precious trees to the Heartland Forest this month, and this time around we had some of our workforce volunteer their own time to help us out. All that built up dirt and sweat washed off by a swim in the dam. Great way to finish the day!
Our young workforce kick-started the year off with a day of training-on-the-job, facilitated by Matt, from Six Kingdoms. We used the opportunity to teach them how to plant out Forest Elder seedlings (rapos) … bagging them correctly, feeding/watering them, and as importantly, how to handle them with care.
30% of every tree sponsored through Precious Tree Project is allocated to social upliftment, training and job creation, and this was a taste of things to come for these young men.
We may not be in the position to employ them on a full-time basis yet, but the vision is to create work for them from your sponsorship, and enable them a higher standard of living in the Garden Route. Learn more about the PTP Workforce.
For the past two years, thriVe, hand in hand with Precious Tree Project (PTP), has put on a local VOLLEYBALL challenge, specifically geared to raise funds to plant out indigenous trees along the Garden Route, and regrow mini endemic forest areas. This was our second year running and its growing popularity here in Wilderness has put it on the Garden Route map as an annual fundraising event for PTP.
This year at our annual Beach Volleyball Challenge at Leentjies Klip Beach, there were more enthusiastic individuals signing up to Play for Trees, more sponsorships, more donations, and a whole lot of fun! So, taking it to the next level… we’re entering a PTP Team next year! See you there!
Thank you to our local sponsor Eden Adventures for donating the winning prize: a full day trip canoeing along our beautiful Touw River.
Precious Tree Project focused much of its tree planting efforts this year assisting Heartland Organic Farm with the regeneration of its natural environment. These efforts, together with the Heartland team themselves, are paying off. It is heart warming to see the process of regrowth on this property from pure destruction. Animal and insect life are finding their way back here.
After a year of continual input into the restoration of Heartland, we said “au revoir” to the Heartland team for 2019. We planted out 60 precious filler trees in a very happy, healthy and growing indigenous forest. The combined efforts and team work between us, our VIPs and the Heartland team are reaping great rewards for all!
In August and September we turned our focus towards Nirvana in Rheenendal. This majestic property, like Heartland Organic Farm, was literally burned to the ground after the devastating fires of June 2017.
Much had been invested by the property owner who had spend millions of Rands clearing the invasive, non-indigenous trees, and planting out thousands of indigenous trees on her property. In recognition of the destruction and of her efforts and hard work, we used our monthly sponsorship to gift Nirvana 200 precious trees. And of course, our enthusiastic group of volunteers were there to help us plant them out.
The celebration of Arbor Day is an important one in light of the rate of deforestation around the world. Protecting our trees and regenerating our natural forest areas is a significant practice and should not be restricted to a specific month or a single day. This said, we honoured this month of tree-planting by giving 50 of our precious trees a new home at Heartland Organic farm… a simple celebration of the inherent value that our precious trees have for this beautiful planet of ours.
Arbor Day 2018 – Volunteer Tree Planting: The Board Members of Precious Tree Project sponsored 50 trees to be planted out in the Garden Route for Arbor Day this year. We spent the day with our VIPs digging new homes for them in the Heartland Forest. And since we are on a mission to plant millions of precious trees in the GRD, it’s Arbor LifeTime for us! Thank you Mother Earth for your Gift of Trees.
This year, much of our focus has been on assisting property owners badly effected by the fires last year in the rehabilitation of their natural surroundings.
This month 200 trees were sponsored in total towards any recipient of our choice and the sponsorship went to Nirvana, Rheenendal.
Switch to Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees!
