A dream of giving back to the community has taken root in Macassar, with eight indigenous trees planted at Zandvliet High School on Monday (7 September), coinciding with National Arbor Month and Week.

The initiative is the work of GrowMacassar, a community greening project founded by Johan Schoeman, who is part of the DA’s Young Leaders Programme.

He said wherever it has a greening or planting project those directly involved must ensure it is sustainable and that the benefit to the community continues beyond the initial exercise.

“I get very upset by unfairness and it’s one thing to complain that the world is unfair and not to do anything. So I decided to get out there and make a difference.”

The project’s ultimate goal is to raise enough funds to build a tree nursery at the school, equipping learners with tree-rearing skills they can take into the workplace after matric. “If you create a nursery you can grow 1 000 trees at a time, and then mass planting becomes a lot easier. The ultimate goal is to plant the whole of Macassar full of trees.”

The species planted is Ficus natalensis, an indigenous tree chosen for its drought tolerance and resilience to Macassar’s notorious South-Easter wind, with gusts of about 50 km/h in summer, according to Schoeman, causing soil erosion as the area’s sandy top soil is blown away.

“Children deserve to grow up playing in the shade. No-one should be outside burnt by the sun.”

GrowMacassar garnered the support of community leader Felicity Solomons and businesswoman Fazlin Railoun, and has also concluded an agreement with Prime Trees, which committed itself to buying back a certain number of trees once the nursery was up and running, bringing in funds for both the project and the school.

“That’s how you enter the green economy,” Schoeman said. “It doesn’t mean building a dam or building a wind turbine. In every town’s small way, they can be a part of the growth in that green economy and create employment opportunities for locals.”

He said the project means far more to him “than just going to some random place”. Schoeman, who lives in Macassar Road, hopes to one day bring his children to see what is possible “if you actually care about your town”.

He also recounted visiting the school about eight months ago and getting a sense of hope among learners about the future of Macassar. “I told them, ‘I’m going to come back and we’re going to plant trees. If you ever lose hope, walk on the school fields and look at the trees planted, and know that if our community stands together we’re going to create a better future for all’.”

Monday’s planting was just the beginning, as Schoeman hopes to involve more schools as the project grows. “I want to prove to the world what is possible when South Africans stand shoulder to shoulder. There’s a lot wrong, but we’re going to change it together.”