KZN schools pull out all the stops in forest rehabilitation challenge

WITH spades in hand, school colours worn with pride, and determination etched across their faces, 40 boys from four of KwaZulu-Natal’s top schools came together at Ferncliffe Forest, Pietermaritzburg, for the second annual Husqvarna Schools Forest Rehabilitation Challenge.

- SIPHO JACK

Husqvarna, an outdoor power products manufacturer in collaboration with Ferncliffe Forest Wilding, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to conservation, staged the competition.

The challenge for the teams was to dig ten planting holes in specific locations in the threatened mistbelt forest, requiring the boys to use maps and clues given to determine the tree-planting positions.

Once they tracked the spots, holes measuring 40 centimetres wide and deep had to be dug before planting saplings that were indigenous to the area.

This year’s competition, which coincided with the celebration of Arbour Week, saw Maritzburg College finish first with their display of teamwork and commitment to environmental stewardship in completing the assignment handed to the teams.