Growing the Billion Tree Campaign in South Africa
Climate change is the greatest and most urgent environmental issue of our time. As the world awakens to its threats, South Africa’s public benefit greening and food gardening organization, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), can report that it has been developing tree planting, maintenance and conservation programmes to address global warming and greening since the organisation was founded in 1990.
Over the past 18 years, FTFA has distributed over 2.6 million trees with the objectives of contributing to greening, carbon offset, sustainable natural resource management, food security, poverty alleviation, enhanced environments, capacity building, skills development and the creation of an awareness of the benefits of environmental improvement activities amongst the poorest and significantly underserved communities of southern Africa.
Working in partnership and with the support, endorsement and cooperation of government, the private and public sectors and civil society to achieve these objectives, FTFA implements three tree planting programmes namely: Trees for Homes, the National Tree Distribution Campaign and the Carbon Standard.
Via its National Tree Distribution programme, FTFA receives applications for trees from underserved communities living in barren dusty townships across South Africa. FTFA provides trees for as many as possible with assistance from sponsors and once funding is received, FTFA orders trees from the nearest tree grower (emerging nurseries where possible) and delivers these with instructions on how to plant and maintain them. Tree planting events are often held to highlight the benefits and spread 
awareness and education. Over 2.5 million trees have been distributed in this way to schools, clinics, old age homes, hospices, police stations, streets and parks.
The National Tree Distribution programme also includes trees for National Arbor Week held annually in South Africa from the 1st to the 7th of September. Throughout the week and during South African Arbor Week (1 to 7 September) FTFA holds hundreds of events with businesses around the country to highlight the benefits of planting and conserving trees, offsetting carbon emissions and greening, whilst simultaneously improving our overall quality of life and ultimately uplifting the environment.
To mark the beginning of the 2007 Arbor Week, a high profile and very exciting event will be held at the Dorothy Nyembe Park in Soweto with SA Formula One World champion turned organic farmer, Jody Scheckter. Jody has sponsored 11 000 trees for the Greening of Soweto towards 2010 project and together with Talk Radio 702, the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg City Parks, Jody will hand over 500 of these trees to residents of Soweto on the 1st September 2007.
“When I read Food & Trees for Africa’s newsletter about the Greening of Soweto, this project fitted exactly with what I felt was important and I hope other people can join me in this worthy cause," commented Jody. FTFA has been asked to assist to plant 200 000 Trees for Homes to green Soweto in the build up to the 2010 World Cup.
FTFA’s Trees for Homes programme was started in the year 2000 and aims to improve quality of life and contribute to the development of sustainable settlements by providing low-income communities with trees to plant at their homes, training, some employment and environmental awareness. Since its inception the Trees for Homes programme has organised the planting of over 280 000 trees at settlements across South Africa thus creating well spaced urban forest that adds value in shade and food production as well as a multitude of environmental best practices as outlined in this proposal. This contributes to urban and peri-urban land care, sustainable human settlements and is also an ideal carbon offset programme which links to the Carbon Standard.
The Carbon Standard, which links to both the Trees for Homes and the National Tree Distribution Programme, was formed to make it easy and affordable for government, individuals, corporations and communities, their office buildings, properties, schools, homes, meetings, events, conferences, celebrations, a business unit, product or brand to offset carbon emissions by planting trees. The Carbon Standard assesses the carbon emitted by a range of activities (energy usage for air conditioners, computers and copiers) land and air travel, mounds of paper and other carbon impacts and calculates how many trees you will need to plant to sink that carbon. FTFA then selects sites for the planting of the trees through its Trees for Homes and National Tree Distribution programmes described above.
At least 70% of the South Africa’s population now lives in urban areas. A large percentage of this is based in former "townships" and informal settlements. The rapid increase in urban population to these disadvantaged areas is preceded with little or no environmental planning and are characterised by the ever decreasing quality of the land, water and air. Rapid urban greening is therefore required to upgrade these areas and FTFA’s tree planting initiatives are hugely beneficial in such instances as they promote awareness of the value and importance of trees, the environment, biodiversity and climate change. So help us to grow The Billion Tree Campaign in South Africa.
For more information on FTFA’s tree planting, climate change and food gardening programmes, email info@trees.org.za.