Tag: tree planting

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ECOLUTION FESTIVAL at Well-Being Sanctuary: 26-29 September 2024

ecolution festival 2024

BE THE CHANGE… you want to see in the world.

Welcome to ECOLUTION, a celebration of nature, sustainability, and community!

An initiative of Well-Being Sanctuary in collaboration with Precious Tree Project (NPO), this unique festival is not just about music and having a lekker time, but is dedicated to fostering a deeper connection with the environment and promoting ecological harmony.

At the heart of ECOLUTION are three fundamental pillars: establishing wildlife corridors, forest rehabilitation, and embracing permaculture principles.

WILDLIFE CORRIDORS are vital pathways that connect fragmented habitats, allowing animals to migrate, forage, and breed freely. At the festival you can explore talks, educational exhibits and interactive workshops focused on raising awareness about the importance of preserving these corridors. Experts share insights on the impact of habitat fragmentation and ways landowners and individuals can contribute to creating and maintaining these vital lifelines for biodiversity.

FOREST REHABILITATION takes center stage at ECOLUTION, symbolising renewal and regeneration. You are invited to participate in fun-filled ceremonies, planting trees and fynbos, where you can get your hands dirty and contribute to restoring degraded ecosystems, as well as clearing alien species. Guided forest hikes offer an immersive experience, allowing participants to witness firsthand the transformative power of nature restoration. Through collaborative efforts, ECOLUTION aims to replenish natural biomes, combat climate change, and provide habitat for countless species.

PERMACULTURE, the third pillar of ECOLUTION, is a holistic approach to sustainable living that mimics natural ecosystems and promotes resilience. Workshops on permaculture design showcase innovative techniques for creating self-sustaining food systems, regenerative agriculture, and eco-friendly infrastructure. From composting and rainwater harvesting to agroforestry and renewable energy; from natural building to worm farming, ECOLUTION inspires attendees to embrace practices that harmonise with nature, nourish the land, and support local communities.

In addition to these core pillars, ECOLUTION offers a vibrant lineup of eco-conscious performances, art installations crafted from recycled materials, and a marketplace featuring sustainable products from local artisans and green businesses. Whether you’re a seasoned environmentalist or a curious newcomer, ECOLUTION invites you to join in the celebration of our planet and discover how together, we can create a brighter, greener future for generations to come.

Play as you learn with our AMAZING EXPERTS –

FEATURING…

TALKS, FOREST WALKS, WORKSHOPS, YOGA, LIVE MUSIC, ECSTATIC DANCE, TREE- AND FYNBOS PLANTING, ALIEN SPECIES CLEARING, FOOD STALLS, KIDS ZONE, FIRE DANCING, TRADING AND SO MUCH MORE!

DELUXE GLAMPING: For Next Level Luxury in a 5m Bell Tent is at a special package for the entire 4 days.
1 to 2 people R2,000 (variety in beds available, first come, first serve)
3 to 4 people R2,800

TICKETS – Your ticket incorporates the purchase of an endemic indigenous tree.

EARLY BIRD ADULTS: R399 • EARLY BIRD KIDS: R199
* Sales window closes 30 June 2024

STANDARD ADULTS: R699 • STANDARD KIDS: R299
* Sales window closes 31 August 2024

SNOOZE ADULTS: R999 • SNOOZE KIDS: R399
* Effective 1 to 29 September 2024

Ticket price includes free camping (bring your own tent), drinking water, firewood and entertainment. Provide your own food or purchase your meals from the food stalls.

We value clear, conscious connection.

NO PETS. NO ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS. RIGHT OF ADMISSION RESERVED.

DIRECTIONS TO THE VENUE
The GPS co-ordinates provided below will only take you to Lake Avenue. But if you read the directions below, you’ll get to the venue. Guaranteed!

https://maps.google.com/?q=-33.971325,22.776617

FROM THE SEDGEFIELD SIDE
Once you pass through Sedgefield on the N2, take the Karatara turnoff to your left. Travel about 4km to the first turn to the left (also signposted: Karatara). Pass over a low water bridge, travel about 3km to the first left turn. It is a dirt road with a sign saying Hoogekraal/George.
Follow the road over the river and up the pass for about 5km to the first left turn. Signs say Well-Being Sanctuary, Wilderness Forest Estate, Fynbosvlei. TURN LEFT into Lake Avenue.
From the top of Lake Avenue just keep following the blue and white WBS arrows. At the bottom of the road you will see a face brick entrance, TURN LEFT and you will see a large wooden gate. You have arrived.
Once through the gate (where you will be required to present your pre-booked tickets) travel along the grass road and park your vehicle in the designated area. Voila! Enjoy a blissful time!

FROM THE WILDERNESS SIDE
Once you pass through Wilderness on the N2, take the turn off to Hoekwil. Travel for approximately 21km and take the right turn onto the dirt road to Ruigtevlei.
Travel approximately 3 km along the dirt road and turn right into Lake Avenue (at this juncture you will see a few signs, including Wilderness Forest Estate, Fynbosvlei, Tomorrowland & Well-Being Sanctuary). TURN RIGHT into Lake Avenue.
From the top of Lake Avenue just keep following the blue and white WBS arrows. At the bottom of the road you will see a face brick entrance, TURN LEFT and you will see a large wooden gate. You have arrived.
Once through the gate (where you will be required to present your pre-booked tickets) travel along the grass road and park your vehicle in the designated area. Voila! Enjoy a blissful time!

Join the Facebook event for live updates.

Ecolution Festival 2024
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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Kretzenshoop Primary School

WMO Kretzenshoop Primary School - Precious Tree Project

SITE #16: Kretzenshoop Primary School

Kretzenshoop Primary is located in Blanco, in George. The school has approximately 800 learners. This established little school is well-maintained on the limited funds provided by the Department of Education and is a public primary school. The school is a Section 21 school, meaning it is allocated limited finances by the Department (for staff salaries) and is responsible for ordering stationery, text books, paying water and lights accounts, and undertaking their own maintenance under ABCDE functions, and is classified under quintile 1 as a no-fee institution.

There is a small food kitchen that can feed approximately 400 learners daily which is supported by a newly created small-scale vegetable garden (currently not sufficient to supply the food kitchen with all of its requirements). The majority of the learners attending do not have a pre-packed lunch as they reside in a low-income bracket community in which the school is situated.

There is a groundsman who currently handles the general maintenance of the school grounds, and in collaboration with the learners’ maintenance schedule, will handle the overall management of the sponsored trees.

Thank you World Memon Organisation for your ongoing support and investment in the health of our youth, and educating them on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being!

Check out the YouTube video below!

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Thembalethu High School

Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Thembalethu High School Precious Tree Project

SITE #15: Thembalethu High School

The school is located in Thembalethu in George and has approximately 1300 learners (Grade 8 to Grade 12). As a no-fee institution, funds for maintenance and development are limited. Community fundraising to bring in additional funding for maintenance, upkeep, etc. is essential but very limited from within the community therefore the school relies on external sponsors for assistance.

There is an existing food kitchen that feeds all the learners daily. The school has recently been subsidised a small vegetable garden that is well maintained by the caretaker. Ongoing maintenance and supply of vegetable seedlings/seeds will be required to keep the garden going. Limited composting of garden refuse is done on site.

There is a small team of ground staff who are responsible for the general maintenance of the school grounds and who have designated responsibilities for the upkeep of the grounds.

A limited number of water tanks are installed on the school grounds – providing adequate water storage and accessible watering points around the school for the watering of the trees.

Thank you World Memon Organisation for your ongoing support and investment in the health of our youth, and educating them on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being.

Check out the Youtube video below!

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Imizamo Yethu High School

Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative Imizamo Yethu High School Precious Tree Project

SITE #14: Imizamo Yethu High School

Imizamo Yethu High School is located in Thembalethu, George and has approximately 1500 learners (Grade 8 to Grade 12). The school is a public secondary school and a no-fee institution and relies on additional funds from external sources outside of the Dpt. of Education, since the latter provides limited funding.

The school is collaborating with Heatherlands High School to create a “Shared Responsibility and Use” of upgrading the sports field, including planting trees to create shaded areas.

There is an existing food kitchen that feeds all the learners. The school, as part of the new Agricultural Sciences recently introduced to Grade 8, has started an enclosed vegetable garden to feed the school kitchen, as part of the Agricultural Sciences curriculum.

There is a small team of ground-staff who are responsible for the general maintenance of the school grounds and a dedicated gardener for the fruit & vegetable garden, all of whom are available to oversee the trees in collaboration with the Agricultural Sciences classes.

Thank you, World Memon Organisation, for your ongoing support and investment in the health of our youth and educating them on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being.

Check out the Youtube video below!

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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PTP Mini Outreach Program – Greening up the Local Community Playgrounds

precious tree project

There is a small informal community in Nature’s Valley which is nestled in and amongst Milkwoods and Cheesewoods on the sand dunes of Kleinkrantz. Under the supervision and direction of Brian Mushfield, a retired minister and Kleinkrantz resident, the community have been working closely with one another to elevate their space and develop their community.

One specific project has been the upgrade of the existing playground and the creation of two play areas for the children. The need for trees across these playgrounds was fulfilled when Cheesewoods and Milkwoods, the endemic tree species that grows naturally in the area, were donated by local Wilderness residents, Mike and Romy. The community, old and young alike, joined us to plant these – as well as additional Milkwoods donated by Precious Tree Project –  in and around the playground areas.

“Blessed are old people who plant trees knowing that they shall never sit in the shade of their foliage”

If the elders of the community do not get to sit under the shade of these trees they planted, the children of the community will.

Precious Tree Project is involved in a number of wildlife rehabilitation projects between Wilderness and Sedgefield. If you would like to sponsor an indigenous South African forest tree towards these corridors, click here – OR – visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – George High School

tree planting george high school precious tree project

SITE #13: George High School

The school is located in LeVallia, George, and was established in 1947. It currently has approximately 1600 learners (Grade 8 to Grade 12) with a school hostel which provides student accommodation for a limited number of learners. The school is a public secondary school, is a no-fee institution and relies on the limited funds provided by the Department of Education. Community fundraising to bring in additional income into the school is required but opportunities to do so are limited from within the community itself.

There are a number of existing trees around the school grounds but many of them are non-indigenous trees. A number of the latter have been chopped down and the trunks used as seating for the learners around the school grounds.

There is an existing food kitchen that feeds all the learners daily, including meals for the hostel residents. The school is in the process of creating an area near the hostel for a fruit garden. The garden is in the early stages of design and its establishment is in process and in line with the Agricultural Sciences curriculum.

There is a small team of ground-staff who are responsible for the general maintenance of the school grounds and who are available to oversee the trees in collaboration with the Agricultural Sciences learners.

Thank you World Memon Organisation for your ongoing support and investment in our youth and facilitating the awareness on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being.

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Jonga High School

WMO Jonga High School 11 August 2023 - precious tree project

SITE #12: Jonga High School

Jonga High School is located in Thembalethu, George, and has approximately 1400 learners (Grade 8 to Grade 12). The school has been approved additional classrooms on adjacent land offered as a land swap by the Department of Agriculture in order to accommodate the increasing numbers of learners completing Grade 7 (coming out of the local primary schools).

The school is a public and secondary school and while it is allocated some funding by the Education Department, it remains responsible for ordering stationery, textbooks, paying water and lights accounts and undertaking their own maintenance. Community fundraising to bring in additional income into the school is limited given the lowered socio-economic bracket within which the community falls. There is an existing food kitchen that feeds the learners daily and an enclosed space has been created for a vegetable garden. The intention of the school is to invest in establishing and maintaining the vegetable and fruit garden so that it can support the needs of the school kitchen.

The groundsman who currently handles the general maintenance of the school grounds will oversee the trees in collaboration with the staff and learners who participated in the activity.

Thank you World Memon Organisation for your ongoing support and investment in the health of our youth and educating them on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being.

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Pacaltsdorp High School

WMO Pacaltsdorp High School

SITE #11: Pacaltsdorp High School

The school is located in Pacaltsdorp in George, and has approximately 1500 learners (Grade 8 to Grade 12). There is a hostel on the school grounds providing limited number of student accommodation.

There is an existing food kitchen that feeds all the learners daily, including meals for the hostel residents. The intention of Pacaltsdorp High School going forward is to re-invest in the existing vegetable garden which has fallen into disarray as a result of a lack of project funding to continue with the maintenance and upkeep thereof. There is capacity on the school grounds to grow food gardens capable of feeding the school goers as well as the 3-meals-a-day feeding requirements of the hostel residents.

A small team of ground-staff will oversee the trees in collaboration with the school members who are part of The Green Club.

Thank you World Memon Organisation for your ongoing support and investment in the health of our youth and educating them on the importance of trees and our natural environment in our own health and well-being.

Check out the Youtube video below!

Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.

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Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative – Thembalethu Primary School

Tree Planting and Environmental Awareness Initiative Thembalethu Primary School Precious Tree Project

SITE #10: Thembalethu Primary School

The school is located in Thembalethu, in George. The school has 1826 (Grade R to Grade 7) learners. It is a Section 21 school and therefore allocated financial assistance by the department primarily for teachers, assistants and ground staff, but remains responsible for ordering stationery, textbooks, paying water and lights accounts and undertaking their own general maintenance.

There is an existing food kitchen that feeds all the learners daily. The school has recently set up a vegetable garden as part of the Health Departments goals towards increasing nutritional values of food intake for the learners. Many of the learners attending Thembalethu Primary School do not have a pre-packed lunch and the need to feed the children meals at school is on the rise.

The staff and learners of Thembalethu Primary School & The Precious Tree Project Team Say THANK YOU WMO!

Check out the Youtube video below!


Click here if you would like to GIFT A TREE OR visit www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/precioustreeproject to make a donation or sponsor a tree.