Children from a Bonteheuwel primary school explored the secrets of trees during an educational walk at Rondebosch Golf Club on Tuesday.
The “tree walk” was organised by the Amy Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
The foundation’s Suerieta Erntzen and Nomvuyisela Batyi, together with Lewyn Maefala, from the conservation organisation Transfrontier Africa, accompanied the 16 Mimosa Primary School Grade 7s on the walk and spoke to them about the various trees they encountered including their traditional and medicinal uses.
The Amy Foundation works with the Dutch-based Conservation Phomolong, a non-profit that provided the funding and training that made it possible for the Amy Foundation staff to hold the tree walk, which the foundation says will be the first of many.
Conservation Phomolong has been doing tree walks for three years in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, working with Transfrontier Africa’s Bush Babies Environmental Project, which teaches schoolchildren about the environment and conservation.
“We provided training to two Amy Foundation members who flew to Phalaborwa,” said Conservation Phomolong co-founder Christiaan Hanssen.
He said he was glad that the tree walk programme had now been piloted in Cape Town. “Our aim is to roll this out throughout the country.”
The Amy Foundation has its head office and training centre in Sybrand Park with centres in Gugulethu and Bonteheuwel. It offers various after-school programmes, including sport, performing arts, literacy, dance and maths.
The foundation’s managing director, Kevin Chaplin, said they hoped to offer the tree walk to schools in Nyanga, Gugulethu, Philippi and Khayelitsha as well as other areas.
“We want the youth to learn about nature and the environment, conservation and trees,” he said.
Mimosa Primary principal Kenny Reid said: “We are grateful to be part of this initiative as we always taught the pupils the theory of trees and plants, though for them to go out and actually see them is amazing.”
Grade 7 pupil Leah Johnson said it had been interesting learning how long trees lived while fellow pupil Takunda Ruzivo said he had been intrigued by the trees’ “spiritual meaning in nature”.
Visit www.amyfoundation.co.za for more information about the Amy Foundation.
