South Africa celebrates Arbor Week in the first week of September annually. This year, the 52nd Johannesburg Girl Guide company celebrated on 7 September by assisting the Zoo Lake Tree Committee with their activities.
It was a chilly morning so the girls started with a warm-up by doing ‘Scouts pace’ around Zoo Lake, which is 1km in circumference. Scouts pace means running 50 paces and walking 50 paces and in this way, you cover distances quickly without becoming out of breath.
The Girl Guides then helped to plant 10 combretum erythrophyllum trees (river bushwillow), at the edge of the lake opposite Moyo’s Restaurant. This bush willow is a riverine species, occurring alongside rivers or away from rivers where sufficient groundwater is available. It is found at almost all altitudes and can, therefore, tolerate a fair amount of climatic variation and diverse soils and should do well at the side of the lake.
The trees were kindly donated by a local resident who cultivated the trees from seeds in her garden. As they grow bigger they will replace the alien invasive common privet trees that are currently growing there.
The tree-hugging game is where one Guide is blindfolded and led by a partner to a tree, which she then needs to ‘get to know’. She has then led away from the tree onto a winding pathway. Once the blindfold is removed, she has to identify the tree she was led to. The Girl Guides had so much fun doing this.
The Zoo Lake Tree Committee is documenting all the trees in the park. The names of the trees where identified and numbered and will be compiled into a treemap. So far, 45 trees species have been identified around the lake area.
The Girl Guides organisation has planted, grown and shared Girl Guiding in diverse communities around the world and has provided opportunities for girls and women to be responsible global citizens. Through its commitment to life, leadership and outdoor skills, progressively dynamic programmes are offered in which members are given every opportunity to fulfil their particular responsibilities.
Details: For more information, see www.girlguides.org.za
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