Plant for the Planet
On Wednesday 20 July 2011, the Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg was privileged to host a presentation by a Felix Finkbeiner from Plant-for-the-Planet in Germany. All Grade 5-7 DSJ learners attended the assembly, and we were joined by a group of learners from neighbouring McAuley House College. Plant-for-the-Planet is a children's movement which grew out of a class project, and has now sparked involvement by children around the planet.
Our learners were hugely inspired to meet a boy their own age who, with the help of others, has managed to make such an impact. Plant-for-the-Planet is responsible for the planting of over a million trees in Germany so far, and Felix has done many presentations, even at the UN conference on climate change.
His presentation taught our learners much about global warming, climate justice, and the role children can play through planting trees and activism. His sister, Flurina, showed how using photographs with celebrities helped them get Plant-for-the-Planet into the news.
Each learner at the assembly received a book showcasing the work of Plant-for-the-Planet so far, and interested learners were invited to sign up to receive emails from the organisation. I am delighted to report that pro-active learners in Grade 7 have already taken steps to establish a Plant-for-the-Planet club at DSJ!
At the end of the assembly, DSJ learners together with our visitors from McAuley House planted seven indigenous trees above the amphitheatre. These came from a total of 40 trees kindly donated by Food and Trees for Africa for this event.
While the Plant-for-the-Planet team stayed in Johannesburg, they were hosted by three DSJ families living close to the school. Many thanks to the Talia, Doerr and Mmoledi families for their hospitality. Thanks also to Karlheinz and his gardening team for digging the holes and assisting with the planting.
For more information, see http://www.plant-for-the-planet.org.
Elizabeth Jansen van Vuuren
Enviro Club AG Teacher
27 July 2011
