Sustainable Ceder Planting Day in collaboration with Cape Nature

Making a difference one tree at a time
Written by: Nic Swanepoel

At 8:00 am sharp the three of us meet, Dawie, Dwayne and myself. Each equipped with a steaming brew in hand. We had spent the night before preparing our tiny little cedar saplings for their long journey up the mountain. We arrived in Algeria 9:00 am where we then met with the Cape Nature Community Team, who would be assisting us with the planting. The Cape Nature Community fieldwork team is an enthusiastic bunch. We were greeted with bright smiles and eager boots ready to trek up Middelberg where our goal lay up upon.

After a short briefing from Dawie Burger, the brains behind Sustainable Ceder, we then got ourselves equipped with all the necessary tools for the job at hand. Belts with pods holding the precious delicate Cedar saplings as well as cleverly thought out backpacks designed to carry a full tray of cedar saplings and ensure their safety for the climb to come.

Hiking up Middelberg was truly a sight to behold. Towering cliff faces that remind us of just how small we are in our natural world. This of course did not slow the rhythmic footsteps of excited team members all ready to make a difference one tree at a time. I was beyond impressed with fitness of Mr James Joubert, a beloved member of the community and an inspiration to the Cape Nature Community Team who despite turning seventy recently made the trek up the mountain without stopping once and even overtaking some of the younger members. That is seventy done right.

We arrived safely at monitoring site 7, Dwayne being the youngest member of the team had been waiting quite some time for the rest of us to catch up, and with a back pack full of cedar saplings might I add. Oh what it must be like to still be twenty again.

We then briefed the team on how to make use of Earth Ranger which we use for future data capturing after which we all set out in teams of two, planting, measuring, photographing as well as capturing the co-ordinates and height in order to compare the saplings progress for future monitoring. It was fantastic too see how engaged the team were. Handling each sapling with absolute care and considering the position of the sun to ensure the sapling gets the appropriate afternoon light in order to increase the survival rate of each sapling, each team member with a glint in their eyes knowing that they are giving back to our planet.

The very next day we were met with an even steeper climb, our calves still aching from the hike before but this did not dampen the teams resolve. The long hike up Vensterberg was well worth the effort, you literally feel as if you’re on top of the world. The eager team who now had a full understanding of how the planting as well as the data capturing works, breezed through the process with the same care as the day before. 

With the help of the Cape Nature team we were able to successfully plant over two hundred trees in the course of two days. This is such a wonderful achievement which will in the future have great beneficial on the Cederberg mountain range. What a fantastic conservation project to be involved in and I firmly believe we can all make a difference, one tree at a time.