Plant a tree for every employee to better our environment!

Johannesburg City Parks, the custodians of greening in the City
of Joburg is calling on business to plant a tree for every employee
to make an immediate impact, in increasing the quality of the
environment in the City before the end of the year. 65 000
established, 2metre high, indigenous trees need to be planted in
areas such as Cosmo City, Ivory Park, Soweto, Eldorado Park,
Lenasia, Westbury, Midrand, Roodepoort and Alexandra with
additional trees being required to beautify main arterials
including 2010 routes to Soccer City and key tourist destinations.

The price of a street tree may vary from R500 to R1200 depending on
the species, age, size and girth.
An average of 15 established trees need to be planted to offset
the carbon emissions of one person and Johannesburg City Parks is
urging all businesses including 2010 Fifa World Cup partners, tree
growers, cellphone providers, the construction industry, mining
houses, financial institutions and vehicle manufacturers to donate
a tree for every employee of the organization. This programme
affords both small and big businesses a platform to offset their
emissions based on their employee complement. It also encourages
organizations to adopt the tree planting programme as part of their
Corporate Social Investment initiative and team-building
initiatives to nurture healthy lifestyles within organizations.

City Parks put in place a target of planting 200 000 established
trees by 2010. So far in excess of 136 000 trees have been planted
in partnership with government departments, residents and business,
and the programme is transforming dry and dusty streets into
tree-lined corridors that act as a catalyst for environmental
enhancement and socio-economic empowerment.

The benefits of planting trees have far reaching implications,
especially on the backdrop of the magnitude of construction taking
place in Johannesburg in preparation for the hosting of the 2010
Fifa World Cup. Trees reduce the impact of climate change by
absorbing pollutants such as carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
Trees act as coolants, are used for medicinal purposes, act as a
source of food , increase property values and the aesthetics of the
area, generate civic pride, provide a habitat for our valuable
biodiversity, absorb oncoming vehicular light, mask irritating
noises, act as barrier against sound and can be spiritually
healing.

Johannesburg City Parks is in a position to facilitate corporate
tree planting programmes together with benefiting residents and
schools on behalf of the donor by visiting the City Parks Carbon
calculator on www.jhbcityparks.com to determine your carbon
footprint based on the mileage of your fleet, your electricity
consumption, your air miles and your lifestyle and then email
trees@jhbcityparks.com or call 011 712-6600, to assist you in
offsetting your carbon emissions by planting street trees in the
City.