Bending the sapling while it's young

Engen plants 700 trees at 6 primary schools for Arbor Week

Thursday, 08 September 2011

For the fifteenth year running, Durban-based Engen Refinery is donating hundreds of indigenous trees to primary schools in the Durban South Basin, for planting during Arbor Week. Five plantings took place on 2nd September and another is planned for 08 September.

At the planting on Thursday at Nizam Road Primary School in Merebank (from 10am to 12 noon), matters will take a fresh turn this year, Engen says. "We won't just plant indigenous trees, but also label existing trees on the school premises as ‘exotic' or ‘indigenous so as to help educate learners'," says Kamal Bahrin Ahmad, GM at Engen Refinery. Ahmad will be in attendance to plant the first tree.

"The idea for labelling came about when we thought of ways to increase the knowledge that our learners gain during Arbor Day," says Logs Naidoo, teacher at Nizam Road Primary. "Our school was chosen as we have made major strides in educating youngsters about preserving the environment through our environmental club." She says the school has also received the Eco Schools Flag for outstanding commitment to environmental management and learning at their school and in their community as part of WESSA's (the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) Eco Schools Programme.

The rest of the 700 indigenous saplings are being planted by children attending the following five schools in Durban South: Parsee Rustomjee, Allipore Primary, M.L Sultan Saint Mary's Primary, Junagarth Primary and Clairwood Boy's Primary.

"We are truly excited about this programme; we think it will plant a vital seed within the next generation about preserving the environment. This initiative is to encourage the children in our community to make a difference," says Ahmad.

Engen Refinery strives to limit its impact on the environment and has won numerous accolades for its efforts. Over the years it has partnered with various environmental organisations and local governments in tree-planting and awareness programmes that seek to bring the meaning of Arbor Day home to the next generation.

This year Enref is partnering with the KZN chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the Centre for Health and Environmental Education Awareness (CHEEA)*.

Patricia Mushininga of SIFE KZN says: "According to research, nearly 4 billion trees are cut down every year for use of paper – not to mention all the other uses like firewood and furniture.

Since every person needs on average 22 trees for oxygen, Arbor Day is a vital time for the world to come together to replenish Mother Earth, so that we may ensure healthy lives for future generations to come. SIFE is proud to be involved."

To this, Farida Khan of CHEEA adds: "CHEEA and our affiliate organisation, Crisis Careline, were happy to be part of this initiative."

Ebrahim Shaik of Crisis Careline, also weighs in: "The benefits of planting trees increases the amount of oxygen produced. At the same time it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. This is a marvelous learning experience for the youngsters."

* SIFE is an international organisation of university students and academics that partners with industry to create sustainable change. CHEEA is the Centre for Health and Environmental Education Awareness.