Primedia Outdoor has already planted 600 trees and has started the development of three food gardens. To achieve this they formalised a partnership with social enterprise Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), South Africa's first social enterprise to address sustainable development through climate change action, food security and greening, with a strong focus on environmental and global warming awareness and education.
The launch of this partnership was held at the DAVINCI Hotel and Suites in Sandton on 19 April, with special guests author and futurist Clem Sunter and Miss South Africa, Melinda Bam.
Through the partnership three perma-culture food gardens will be developed and at least 100 trees will be planted every month for disadvantaged schools and community centres across the country, often in barren, dusty landscapes.
Trees have always been very important to Primedia Outdoor, who have never cut down a single tree in order to set up one of their billboards. "We embarked on this partnership because we view ourselves as responsible corporate citizens, because we want to meaningfully offset our carbon footprint, because we want to generate entrepreneurial development and skills and because it is simply the right thing to do," according to Seshnee Naidu, marketing manager for Primedia Outdoor.
The schools at which the 100 trees a month are planted, as well as the sites for the food gardens, have all been carefully selected by Primedia Outdoor for various environmental reasons. "We have chosen tree-planting sites where schools require them for shade, to settle the dust, for windbreaks or fruit trees to help supplement the learners diets. Trees in these projects also contribute to environmental education and increased natural biodiversity," says Seshnee.
Food gardens were selected on the premise that they will benefit community members as a food source and ultimately as a means of earning income from the sale of surplus produce. Each food garden funded by Primedia Outdoor also hope to supply vegetables to surrounding charities dependent on the abundance of the supply.
One of the food gardens, The Suthani Community Project, was started by a group of community members with the aim of increasing food security. The project also provides donations to needy orphanages. The other two gardens, Sizakancane Primary School in Newcastle and Mzamomtsha Primary School in Uitsig will help to provide all the learners at the school with healthy, organic and nutritious food.
"Primedia Outdoor acknowledges that green is the way forward and recognizes the benefits of measuring its carbon footprint, mitigating their environmental impacts and planting and conserving trees to offset carbon emissions, thus ultimately improving our environment," Seshnee concludes.
