What is National Arbor Day – and why should we celebrate it?

 

Educating the youth about keeping the environment green has become important across the globe. With this objective in mind, many countries celebrate Arbor Day once a year. On this day, many trees are planted as an effort to place emphasis on the importance of their role. In South Africa, Arbor Day is celebrated throughout a week.

Part of the important lessons learned during this week includes the different aspects of forestry, which has been divided into three categories.

Indigenous Forests provide a home for wildlife and also attract thousands of visitors, which increases a country’s revenue. These Forests provide trees and herbs used to make natural remedies to cure hundreds of people. All the trees act like a barrier against soil erosion and continue to sustain the African wildlife and the environment.

Commercial Forests is the unnatural version of Indigenous Forests, with a role equally as important. It provides jobs to people in the area and also wood needed in the industry. These woods are used as a rural income generation through massive plantation work and revenue earning from wood, in order to improve socio-economic conditions of the rural masses.

Lastly, Metropolitan Forests refers to the trees, plants and lawns which are grown in cities and towns across the country. The small pieces of greenery scattered through the concrete and brick provides life to our environment, not mentioning the fresh air it produces.

During National Arbor Week, South Africans are educated about trees and how they affect our everyday lives. The dangers of forest fires are reiterated and the importance of the forestry industry, as well as trees in general, is emphasized. Trees are planted and our environment is made greener. Many sponsors combine their efforts in different forms and most of the week’s events are organized by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), with Food and Trees For Africa (FTFA) short on their heels, teaching poorer communities how to develop and maintain their own food garden. National Arbor Day takes place during the first week of September.

Written by Marleen Theunissen

Creative writer