Pula Madibogo Primary School

The Pula Madibogo Primary School in Mankweng Limpopo hosted World Environmental Day event on the 3rd June 2009.The event was attended by social enterprise Food & Trees for Africa, (FTFA), Department of Education, Department of Water Affairs & Forestry, Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Pioneer Foods Limited, 30 local schools, community members and NGOs. The event was aimed to sensitize the local communities to the value that simple actions like the Permaculture food garden initiative at the school, which has been sponsored by Pioneer Foods, contribute much to the preservation, enhancement environment, health and combat climate change.

The official event started by a 3km root march started from Mankweng police station, via Mankweng Hospital, and Toronto Township back to the Pula Madibogo Primary School. The participants were carrying trees, umbrellas, banners, climate change brochures and posters. The drum majorities were beating drums to create an awareness of climate change to the local schools and communities.

The Bakos Brothers, Cape Couriers, Harlequin paint, through FTFA, donated these trees to 30 local schools and Pioneer Foods Limited donated 10 000 variety of vegetable seedlings to school outreach programme, in the Capricorn district in the northern Limpopo Province. Each selected school received 5 fruit trees and 5 indigenous shade trees for the greening of their school environments. The trees and vegetable seedlings were planted in the schoolyards as part of environmental greening and food security programme.

Joe Matimba FTFA representative stated that FTFA is one of the leading South Africa’s national greening organizations that develops, manages and promotes greening, climate change mitigation, sustainable natural resource management and food security programmes.

The importance of creating partnership with different stakeholders such private sectors, NGOs and governmental departments to work together to combat climate change through environmental greening activities in the country was highlighted. The emphasis was also on the 300 trees donated by sponsors to improve air quality, thermal efficiency of the schools, provide a potential source of food (in the case of fruit trees), contribute to soil management and reduce run off, develop green suburbs and contribute to civic pride and contribute to economic development and creation of jobs at a local level. The impact created by FTFA in the disadvantaged and environment is beyond human explanation.