GALLERY: Trees for Mother Nature

With Earth Day on 22 April, Rand Park High School decided to start a brand new tradition to honour the Earth in a very special way.

The Grade 8 pupils of the school planted two brand new Paperbark thorn trees on the school grounds for Earth Day. The idea is that they can watch the trees grow over the next five years that they are at the school.

Claire Young, one of the teachers, explained to the pupils that 7.8 billion trees get cut down each year. Another Grade 8 teacher, Abigail Pretorius explained that they chose the Paperback tree as it is native to Africa. “It will grow from 3m to 25m,” said Pretorius. The reason for planting the trees is that they can give shade for years to come.

All of the Grade 8 pupils gathered between the two school buildings and felt proud to be the first group to start this brand new tradition. Each member of the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) in Grade 8 had a chance to pour some soil into the hole, knowing that they did their part in caring for Mother Nature. RCL member Ross Mapatha said that it is scary to think that his grandchildren may not have trees in the future.

“I feel it is a good idea to plant the trees because it helps stop global warming, which will save the ice caps,” said Bradley Ferreira. The pupils also heard that they could participate in a competition where they can place a photo of themselves on Instagram with the hashtag, #RPHSSsupportearth for the final week in April.

Young said that the photo with the most likes wins a prize. “By doing this we create awareness for Earth Day,” concluded Young.

Details, Rand Park High School, 011 791 7774.

Related articles: What you can do for Earth Day