Greenpop, < the Cape Town-based urban greening and reforestation organisation, is gearing up for its biggest, greenest Arbor Month yet. The organisation is celebrating its 6th birthday, joining eco-minded activists and athletes in running the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon for trees, while launching an ambitious fundraising campaign to gather funds to plant 1,000 trees in communities that need them around Southern Africa, and co-hosting the Hogsback Festival of Trees in the Eastern Cape. September in South Africa has never been greener! What is Arbor Month?
Celebrated since 1983, Arbor Month brings South Africans of all ages together every September to celebrate the beauty and importance of trees. During the course of the month, eco-education and tree planting take centre stage. The ideals of this month have clearly grown over the years: what started as Arbor Day then became Arbor Week, and Greenpop isn’t the only organisation that now fills the whole month of September with tree-related fun.

This month is also Heritage Month in South Africa, so this is a time to celebrate some of the country’s oldest, largest and most culturally-significant trees (South Africa’s ‘Champion Trees’ such as the Sagole Baobab Tree in Limpopo, the Three Queens trio of Matumi trees (Breonadia salicina) at Amorentia Estate near Tzaneen, the Dalene Matthee Big Tree and many others). 24 September, Heritage Day, is a special day for all South Africans, who are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions. Viva Arbor Day!!

Greenpop’s Arbor Month activations:

Sanlam Cape Town Marathon:
Since launching in 2007, the Sanlam Cape Town marathon has grown into one of the main events in Cape Town’s sporting calendar, as well as a superb opportunity for organisations with a social or environmental mandate to canvass support from the public. The event is endorsed by two of South Africa’s sporting greats – Elana Meyer and Francois Pienaar – for its tremendous potential to further develop in the hopes of being included as one of the World Marathon Majors. Greenpop has 17 athletic activists RUNNING FOR TREES at the marathon, combining a passion for being active with a passion for making a positive impact on the environment.
#RunForTrees

Hogsback Festival of Trees:
In honor of Arbor Month, Greenpop is happy to announce they will once again take part in the Hogsback Festival of Trees from September 23 to 25. Working in partnership with Terra-Khaya Family & Eco Lodge, Greenpop promises a weekend of immense fun and unforgettable memories as festival goers enjoy live music, delicious food and, of course, tree planting!

By rehabilitating the wattle-invaded land and planting indigenous trees in this unique cloud sanctuary, they will be fostering biodiversity in the threatened forests and adjacent grasslands. Greenpop has set an ambitious goal of planting 2,000 in this one weekend, helping to restore the natural habitat of numerous species in the Amathole mountains which are currently at risk, including the Cape Parrot, the Amathole toad and the Samango monkey. Get your green on and join Greenpop and the Terra-Khaya Family & Eco Lodge at the Hogsback Festival of Trees for an unforgettable weekend that is bound to make a long lasting impact!
#FestivalOfTrees

Open Nursery Day:
Greenpop’s nursery provides a temporary home to many of the trees the organisation plants around Cape Town as part of its Urban Greening Programme, as well as providing a hub for eco-education and sustainability awareness. Volunteers are invited to come together at Greenpop’s Open Nursery Day, when there will be plenty of ways to get their hands dirty for a good cause; mulching, watering and taking care of seedlings. RSVP here. There will also be other volunteer opportunities during the month – sign up for Greenpop’s newsletter to be alerted to them.

1 month, 1,000 trees:

Greenpop was founded exactly six years ago, in September 2010, when Misha Teasdale decided to plant 1,000 trees in under-greened communities in Cape Town to compensate for his own impact on the environment from his global travelling through his advertising and production career. The last six years have been an incredible journey for Greenpop and, almost 70,000 trees later, Greenpop continues to plant trees at schools, community centres, farms and forests around Southern Africa, in the process, expanding their network, crossing borders, bridging divides and forging connections. In September they will be getting back to their roots by mobilizing to raise funds for 1,000 trees to mark their 6th birthday through a variety of inventive online and social media campaigns, including a TOP SECRET poster and online campaign to be launched on 1 September (clue: follow the hashtag #GotWood on Greenpop’s social channels in September!).