The school was among others in the Tembisa area that received trees from the bank as part of its corporate social responsibility programme.
The bank’s environmental and sustainability officer, Devendri Adari said they donated two forest bush willow trees to the school. “At the presentation at the schools, the kids got an opportunity to win a R500 savings account by presenting a poem,” said Adari. She said the aim of the initiative was to teach the pupils about investing in themselves and in their environment.
Grade 7 teacher Teboho Mofokeng echoed Adari’s sentiments. “The environment in which these children are in, [it is easy to think that they cannot make a difference], however your environment doesn’t mean that you cannot contribute to saving the planet,” said Mofokeng.
Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa will be overseeing the progress of the trees at the schools. Project manager, Quinton Hlongwane said, “Because corporates do not have much time and staff to dedicate fully to the projects, they employed our services to oversee that the trees are tended to properly and that eventually the project is a successful one.”
The society’s eco-school co-ordinator, Sylvia Modiba said their focus was on promoting the planting of trees in communities as they contributed to sustainability. “We are looking at the bigger picture,” she said.
“This might lead to the creation of employment as the pupils are learning valuable skills in our workshops.”
Filler: Is there an environmental project you want us to know about? E-mail midrandreporter@caxton.co.za
