WILDTRUST, an environmental non-profit organisation based in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), recently announced a partnership with CHEP, a sustainability conscious global logistics company. The partnership will help WILDTRUST realise its vision for a “thriving and resilient world” by planting 100 000 indigenous trees during the 2024/25 planting season.

Central to this partnership between WILDTRUST and CHEP is reinvigoration of WILDTRUST’s legacy project, the Tree-preneur project. A term coined by WILDTRUST, tree-preneurs are local community members who propagate indigenous trees from seeds to a 30cm height or more. When the trees reach this height, they can be traded or bartered with WILDTRUST for livelihood support items such as uniforms or school fees, building materials, grocery vouchers and more.

To activate and launch this partnership, various tree planting events were held around KZN during Arbor Month in September when the WILDTRUST restoration teams went far and wide, reaching the public, local schools, businesses and like-minded organisations at 17 different locations, planting well over 2 000 trees. A lot more trees still need to go into the ground and support is needed to reach the goal of 100 000 trees.

Marietjie Brown, CHEP’s Sustainability and Government Affairs Lead, emphasised the WILDTRUST partnership’s alignment with CHEP’s “business positive, planet positive and communities positive” strategic framework.

“Our collaboration with WILDTRUST supports our vision to create regenerative solutions that benefit the environment and local communities. Through initiatives like the Tree-preneur project, we’re advancing CHEP’s forest positive strategy, which aims to enable sustainable growth of two trees for every one we use  – helping restore ecosystems and promote biodiversity.

“By integrating circular economy principles of sharing and reusing pooled assets, we help our customers optimise their supply chains while reducing resource consumption. This partnership underscores our commitment to minimising environmental impact and contributing positively to the communities we operate in. We are thrilled to start this long-term sustainability relationship with WILDTRUST.”

Buyi Makhoba-Dlamini, WILDTRUST’s Partnerships and Donor Relations Manager, said: “Together, let’s plant the seeds of change and watch them grow into a thriving and resilient future. By restoring forests and increasing natural spaces, this project aims to create habitats for wildlife, improve air quality and mitigate climate change. Equally important, the initiative provides marginalised communities with the opportunity to cultivate a sustainable livelihood while contributing to a positive environmental impact.”