Airports Company South Africa, Cape Town International Airport (ACSA, CTIA) have donated 10 shade cloth units to various schools in disadvantaged Cape Town Communities. The recipients include 7 primary schools and 3 nature reserves, located in Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Uitsig and Bishop Lavis. Each organisation receive 1 (7,5mx5mx2,5m) shade net unit fully installed, 5 trees, 20 plants, a bag of bone meal fertilizer and 2 bags of compost.
Following the reconfiguration of the car park, instead of disposing of the shade cloth units which were still in good nick, it was decided to donate them and NMC Construction offered their services to erect them. “We knew that the shade cloth units could be put to good use and once NMC came on board we decided to find other partners who could provide more goods”, said Deidre Hendricks, CTIA’s Communications Manager. In line with Arbour week early in September, partners were found who donated trees and expertise in tree planting.
Since Monday 13 September until tomorrow, Friday 17 September, all the participating organisations and staff who are volunteers visit two recipients per day and plant trees together with the learners. As a group they prep the grounds for the plants, as well as the actual planting of the trees, an experience the learners have certainly been enjoying.
The other partners involved in the project are City Parks who are providing bags of compost, SANBI donating 30 plants for each school, offering a planting demonstration, supplying bone meal (fertilizer), pamphlets and booklets on trees and forests. The Tree Project (Tamasea) has also donated 50 trees, 15 plants (including creepers) and 15 stakes for the trees.
“A key tenant of our corporate social responsibility is community uplift and we believe that through a simple initiative such as this, there will be far reaching benefits for the school children,” said Deidre Hendricks, CTIA’s Communications Manager.
Selected Beneficiaries:
1. Meadowridge Primary School(Mitchell’s Plain
2. Stratford Primary School( Eerste Rivier)
3. Tygersig Primary School( Uitsig)
4. Andile Junior School( New Cross Roads)
5. Sakumlandela Primary(Khayelitsha)
6. Bishop Lavis Primary( Bishop Lavis)
7. Jabu Pre Primary(Philippi)
8. Edith Stephens Wetlands (Nature reserve, Philippi)
9. City Parks (Nature reserve, Mitchell’s Plain)
10. Wolfgat Nature reserve( Mitchell’s Plain)
