Retail chain launches EduPlant

Co-ordinated by Food and Trees For Africa (FTFA), Woolworths Trust EduPlant launches its 2008 program with a series of free Permaculture workshops held throughout the country. The aim of these events is to motivate educators who want to make a difference in their communities and are the start of an exciting journey to help South African schools become more sustainable.

For well over a decade, Woolworths Trust EduPlant in association with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Landcare SA and SABC Education, has been the leading schools food gardening and greening program that promotes and supports schools in the growing of good food using resource-efficient Permaculture techniques. The initiative not only addresses the critical issue of enhancing food security but also promotes vital environmental and sustainable living education.

All South African educators are invited to attend the 2008 EduPlant workshops, which are held in all nine provinces from January through to March. These are free one-day events based on experiential learning and are designed to show educators how to create Permaculture food gardens at their schools.

While Permaculture is a world-renowned system of sustainable food gardening and farming, it also incorporates ethics and principles that are synonymous with sustainable living. Participating schools learn a practical and satisfying way to live within the limits of Nature, reaping the benefits of producing good food while saving resources and recycling waste. The Permaculture way of life is an effective and easy way to achieve community self-reliance, as well as improved health and nutrition.

Workshop topics include water harvesting, soil improvement, natural resource mapping, recycling design as well as how to involve learners in the school's living, learning laboratory. Schools enter their garden projects into the 2008 Woolworths Trust EduPlant competition where they stand to participate in the exciting finals event and win big prizes in Emerging, Intermediate and Advanced categories.

Chairman of the Woolworths Trust, Brian Frost says: “Sustainability is at the core of the our business in the 21st century… and EduPlant is providing school communities with the knowledge and skills that enable them to grow their own good food, to comprehend the interdependence of natural systems and to care well for their environment. Schools that participate in the 2008 Woolworths Trust EduPlant program will gain valuable expertise and experience that the world needs now more than ever. In this way, many under-resourced South African communities will be greatly enriched.”

If you would like to be part of the Woolworths Trust EduPlant program and participate in the Permaculture workshops, please contact: Joanne Rolt at FTFA on (011) 8039750, email .