August 26, 2005
By Buhle Makabane
THE Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown, which marks the historic site where the Freedom Charter was signed 50 years ago, will host the official launch of Arbor Week in Johannesburg on Monday, 29 August 2005.
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Buyelwa Sonjica will officiate. "Plant a tree, grow our future" is the theme for this year's Arbor Week, which is held nationally from 1 to 7 September.
A parkland is being created near the square, with 640 trees planted in the surrounding area as part of the celebrations.
A parkland is being created in Kliptown
Kliptown park has a stream running through it and was made possible by a donation of grass from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
It will give residents a quiet, serene green lung where they can chill out.
The trees are being planted in selected areas of Kliptown, with many planted ahead of the official launch of Arbor Week.
"Physical work started on Monday, 22 August, and the green lung that is being constructed in Kliptown addresses a backlog in the area," said City Parks manager Oscar Oliphant.
City Parks' workforce has been already been hard at work cleaning up the park, installing benches and planting grass.
Jackie Mahoy, who lives in Kliptown Extension 10, said they had been waiting for a park for a long time.
"This is very good because children will not have to take long routes to school. Having this park will help to limit crime that happens in the area."
Kliptown is the oldest urban black settlement in Johannesburg and was established in 1903. It is mainly known as the place where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955.
The Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication is a Johannesburg Development Agency project. It is part of efforts to promote environmental and economic redevelopment in the area. Funding came from Gauteng's Blue IQ, the multi-billion rand initiative to invest in developing economic infrastructure in identified mega-projects.
Arbor Week is held to promote a better understanding of trees, encourage community participation in greening activities, and to raise awareness of South Africa's urban greening initiatives. The important role played by trees in sustainable development is also highlighted.
In South Africa, Arbor Day was first celebrated in 1983; it was extended to a national Arbor Week in 1997. It is co-ordinated by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Food and Trees for Africa and Total South Africa.
"The launch will take the form of a tree-planting ceremony, thereby contributing to the renewal and development of Kliptown, a suburb of major historical significance in the evolution of our modern democracy," said Pat Nyathi, the chairman of Mercury Media, the government-appointed media strategy and buying agency for national Arbor Week.
As part of Arbor Week, the company will sponsor 500 indigenous trees that will be planted along the stream that runs through the park.
Two specific trees, a common and a rare species, are chosen each year for Arbor Week. This year these are Schefflera umbellifera, also known as a basterkiepersol or false cabbage tree, and Adansonia digitata baobab, kremetart, the selected rare tree.
The false cabbage tree is a tall, straight tree. It usually has an un-branched main stem and a much-branched, rounded crown. The leaf margins are wavy, entire or serrated in the upper part, with a broadly pointed or notched tip.
Regarded as the largest succulent plant in the world, the baobab tree is steeped in mystery. It looks like an upside-down tree, with the trunk as the taproot, and the branches the finer capillary roots.
According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute website, PlantZAfrica, the false cabbage tree is found in moist, warm forest areas, as well as in dry forest and on grassy hills, from the Eastern Cape, through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng to Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The baobab is found in several areas of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and other tropical African countries.
The Kliptown function starts at 11am.
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