bigFIG boss reckons "ours is bigger than yours"

14 Jan 2011

The bigFIG (digital) and Africa Geographic (print) partnership has thrown down the gauntlet to South Africa's media and publishing industry: "We will plant more than 2,500 indigenous trees in 2011," declared bigFIG CEO Simon Espley at a recent tree-planting exercise. "And we will match or better this number in the years going forward." What is your business doing to mitigate its carbon footprint? was his challenge.

Simon Espley, CEO of bigFIG Digital Media at the Lady Michaelis tree-planting outing in December 2010

Espley threw down the gauntlet to the South African media industry while digging holes for some 20 trees at the Lady Michaelis Community Health Centre in Plumstead, Cape Town. "bigFIG has teamed up with the award-winning publisher Africa Geographic to plant more than 2,500 indigenous trees this year. We do this in partnership with communities, NGOs and government departments, thereby ensuring that our trees are suitable for the area, make a meaningful contribution to communities and are well looked after."

The Big Tree in Hogsback. This tree is over 800 years old and the only one that remains in the Amathole mountains. A true lord of the forest

The small team of 10 editors, designers, tech and marketing personnel visits their projects regularly, to make sure its efforts are not in vain. This is a small part of its sustainability program - for more info visit http://www.bigfig.com/#sustain-sustain2.

"Our most exciting project for 2011 will be planting some 2,000 yellowwood trees in the Amatola mountain area of the Eastern Cape in collaboration with Africa Geographic, Wilderness Safaris, the Wild Bird Trust, the Cape Parrot Project, BirdLife South Africa, Rance Timber and local communities," he says.

There is an urgent need to rehabilitate our last remaining intact Afromontane forest patches in order to save the fewer than 1,000 critically endangered Cape Parrots remaining in the wild. Aptly named iziKhenene (meaning Cape Parrot in Zulu/Xhosa), this tree planting project will focus mainly on South Africa's national tree, the Real Yellowwood Podocarpus latifolius.

The iziKheneni project has purchased the entire stock of saplings from two community-run nurseries

"We have purchased the entire stock of saplings from two community-run nurseries and local women from the surrounding communities will be paid to plant and care for the saplings. We are also looking to continue this project into the future, thus providing sustainable income for the community.

"In addition to the Amatola project we support the Slanghoek Mountain Resort near Rawsonville with their riverine habitat regeneration project, and get involved twice a year in local ad-hoc projects. In December we planted over 20 trees at the Lady Michaelis Community Health Centre in Plumstead, Cape Town. A glade of hardy indigenous trees now graces the grounds, providing much-needed future shade for the clinic's patients. Our NGO partner on that day was Greenpop, a non-profit community greening initiative (http://greenpop.org/).

"We invite the media industry to meet or beat our efforts to bring about a truly sustainable publishing and media industry," Espley concluded.