JNF-SA plants 67 trees for Madiba

ANT KATZ

JNF’s WSEC project and volunteers planted 67 trees at Pretoria’s Mamelodi regional hospital as their contribution to Mandela Day. The trees were sponsored by Citadel Wealth Management and the project was managed by the Jewish National Fund of South Africa’s (JNF-SA) multiple award-winning Walther Sisulu Environmental Centre (WSEC).

Pretoria residents Rabbi Gidon Fox and Traditional Healer Dr Ephraim Mabena addressed the volunteers at the hospital. 

RIGHT: JNF’s Benji Shulman plants one of 67 trees at Mamelodi Hospital

The WSEC centre has won a prestigious Mail & Guardian “Greening the Future” award as well as having been a runner-up on a second occasion. They have also won a SanParks Award.

This unique project, which has been running for several years, has two distinct and highly-successful functions. The one sees over 12,000 Gauteng schoolchildren monthly bussing in for a day and having great fun while learning in WSEC’s living environmental museum (sections of which are individually sponsored by major Jewish-owned corporations). Well over 100,000 eager learners annually also get educated in a grow-your-own veggie patch while snacking on the spoils of the season.

JNF’s second main activity at WSEC, is their long-standing “Greening Mamelodi” tree-planting project, under which their 67 Trees for Mandela planting took place last Friday. The Greening Mamelodi project has aimed to plant at least 5,000 trees in the stark township environment every year. The idea is to put two trees, one for shade and one for fruit, in as many gardens as possible.

Trained WSEC volunteers discuss placement with each household, dig the wholes, plant the trees and train each resident how to maintain their chosen trees.

JNF funds the activities of the centre which it operates in conjunction with the Gauteng department of education. They also train staff in a programme that creates both jobs and skills in the heart of the township. The Jewish National Fund operates a second, similar facility in KwaZulu-Natal.