JNF helps launch One Billion Tree campaign

JNF helps launch One Billion Tree campaign 

The Jewish National Fund South Africa (JNF SA) has joined the campaign to plant a million trees across South Africa in a single day in September. 

It’s part of the One Billion Trees Programme, launched at the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens on Monday, 11 May. Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Bernice Swarts led the event, under the theme “My Tree, My Oxygen ‒ Plant Yours Today”. The Gauteng MEC for Environment, Ewan Botha, ambassadors, government representatives, community leaders, and pupils attended. 

The campaign seeks to combat climate change, restore degraded environments, and encourage mass participation in tree planting across South Africa 

JNF SA is making available the knowledge and resources of its JNF-Walter Sisulu Environmental Centre in Mamelodi, east of Tshwane. Through the centre, more than 35 000 trees have already been planted using techniques and methodologies developed in Israel. In addition, more than 150 000 pupils have received environmental education through the centre, many of whom would otherwise not have had access to such programmes. 

Speaking to the assembled dignitaries at the launch, JNF SA’s Benji Shulman reflected on the universal value of environmental work and the role trees can play in bringing communities together. 

“A tree does not care what religion you are to use its shade, what race you are to use its seeds, or what nationality you are to eat its fruit,” he said. 

Shulman added that JNF SA was encouraged by its partnership with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on the campaign, as well as its cooperation with civil society organisations and the private sector. 

He said that by working together across sectors and communities, South Africa could make significant progress towards achieving the ambitious goal of planting one billion trees. 

The programme is also expected to contribute to job creation through nurseries, planting initiatives, and broader environmental projects. 

President of JNF SA Isla Feldman said that the organisation had been involved in forestry for 125 years and had helped plant 250 million trees in Israel. She called on the Jewish community to get involved by planting trees at shuls, schools, and homes.