Tuning in: Chris-Tiaan pays it forward to help the planet
This special plant can rid our planet of CO2 emissions and this has been known since as early as 2008, yet hardly anybody knows about it.
CHRIS-TIAAN Nortjé (11), who lives in Pennington, has a dream of helping to fight global warming and to make South Africa a healthier place to live in.
And if there is one person who can do it, it is most certainly him – he is a force to be reckoned with. Chris-Tiaan lives with autism, which he calls his superpowers and says a better description is really ‘awesomenism’ and not autism.
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He lives with his grandparents Johan and Charlotte Coetzee since his mom died in December 2017 and recently started showing interest in a succulent collection after reading up and studying them for a couple of weeks.
Once he read about the spekboom and its value, it triggered his enthusiasm to do something good for our planet.
This special plant can rid our planet of CO2 emissions and this has been known since as early as 2008, yet hardly anybody knows about it.
Since his research, he approached me to help him put a special project together and worked hard cutting, planting, decorating, packing, doing presentations and spreading the word about spekboom during the last school holiday.
Over the last couple of weeks, he has handed out 150 cuttings of spekboom in the Pennington Village Community – free – as a special ‘pay it forward’ gesture. The 150 cuttings handed out over the last two weeks can potentially produce 200 trees each in just two years – which can potentially produce 30 000 spekboom trees in just four years.
Before handing out the cuttings, Chris-Tiaan presents his spekboom speech to them, then hands them the leaflet and cuttings. And everyone thoroughly enjoyed it!
Of course, they were all told that as soon as their spekboom is established, they need to pay it forward too. Why is the spekboom so special? Spekboom can absorb CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere and use it to create its own plant tissue.
It has superpowers to fight climate change and eliminate air pollution. A spekboom thicket is ten times more effective than the Amazon rainforest and the plant itself can live for up to 200 years!
Spekboom is proudly South African, indigenous, easy to grow, is high in basic nutrients and edible. It needs lots of direct, all-day sunshine and only one good watering per week – therefore it’s also a water-wise plant.
A single 2.5m high Spekboom plant can absorb up to 635g of carbon dioxide per year.
Locals are urged to please support this worthwhile cause so that Chris-Tiaan can procure more mother plants.
All donated funds will be administered by a trust named after Johan and Charlotte’s two children – Hannes (their son) and Yolande (C- T’s mom) who sadly died at such young ages, thus the project is not focused at making any profits.
Bank details are Halande Trust, Standard Bank, account number 021395314. Contact Charlotte at 082 5958683 for details of the project.
And also consider giving spekboom plants as gifts this Christmas instead of commercial gifts from elsewhere in the world, thereby working towards reducing carbon emissions and ensuring a future for all.
We have lots of spekboom available and Charlotte and Johan host an open house every Saturday morning between 10am and 12noon at 12 Nanette Ave, Pennington. Please support Chris-Tiaan and take a minute to like and share his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CTSpekboomInitiative/.
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