These 3 000 trees are the last of 10 000 trees that Trudon (publishers of the Yellow Pages) committed to planting around South Africa through Food & Trees for Africa’s (FTFA) Trees for Homes programme in 2011, The International Year of Forests.

Trudon takes its responsibility as a corporate citizen towards its stakeholders and the communities within which it operates to heart. “Trudon’s main business is the production of printed directories so we are encouraging the planting of trees in our communities,” said Clarissa Smith, Corporate Social Investment Manager of Trudon.

Situated approximately 15 km’s from Durban City centre in the hilly landscape of Mount Edgecombe and Avoca Hills, lies the newly identified Ward 102. This ward, developed in 2005, now has three low cost housing settlements of around 2 000 units, Mount Moriah, Mount Royal and Khabazela settlement. The population lives below the poverty line and the majority of the residents are unemployed or rely on contractual and temporary jobs in the nearby factories, Durban City centre and the Municipality. “This Trees for Homes project has done a lot for our community and we appreciate the ongoing greening initiatives that bring hope, educate and green the lives of these communities,” commented Councillor Musa Dludla.

The good news is that these settlements have been established on fields previously used to grow sugarcane, resulting in fertile soil and vibrant water streams. The areas are kept clean and the communities welcome this initiative from Trudon, which will play a major role in rehabilitating the landscapes through the planting trees. “I cannot wait for my house to receive a tree. I have been hoping to plant trees in my yard for some time and now it has came thanks to Trudon,” said Mrs Mchunu, a homeowner.

The first distribution of 500 trees will take place on 1 September at 10am at the Community Meeting Open Space, 21st Street, Khabazela Settlement. Further tree distributions of 500 trees each will take place on 2 September at 10:00 at the Open Space on Mount Royal Drive in Mount Royal and on 3 September at 14:00 at the Site Office, corner Mount Moriah Drive and Dolofita Drive in Mount Moriah. A further 1 500 trees will be distributed in Port Elizabeth on 14, 15, and 16 September, venues to be confirmed.

Beneficiary communities of the previous 7 000 Trudon Trees for Homes included Nompumelelo, East London in the Eastern Cape; Braamfischerville, Soweto and Nellmapius, Pretoria in Gauteng; Bloemfontein in the Free State; and Delft in the Western Cape, bringing the total number of trees planted by Trudon in 2011 to 10 000.

“These 10 000 trees will sequester a conservative 3745 tons of carbon dioxide and contribute to another 250 hectares of urban forest, contributing greatly to the Greening of South Africa,” according to Joanne Rolt, Trees for Homes programme manager at FTFA.

For more information or to attend any of the Trudon Trees for Homes distribution events, please contact Joanne Lee Rolt on 011 656 9802/3 or [email protected]