The Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms. Bernice Swarts, will lead a government campaign to plant One Million Trees on Heritage Day, 24 September 2025. The campaign forms part of the Presidential Ten Million Trees Flagship Programme which aims to mobilise South Africans from all walks of life, three spheres of government, private sector, interfaith formations, business, diplomatic corps, traditional leaders, NGOs, youth, etc., to plant trees. The objective of the campaign is to bring all South Africans together to plant trees to mitigate against climate change.
The main tree planting events will take place in Pretoria, Gauteng and in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape.
- The Oudtshoorn trees planting event will be led by Acting State President, His Excellency Paul Mashatile ahead of the Heritage Day commemorating event. Acting President Mashatile will be joined by key government leaders including the Minister of Arts and Culture, Honourable Gayton McKenzie and various provincial government leaders.
- The Pretoria tree planting event will be led by Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts at Freedom Park Heritage Site in Salvokop. Deputy Minister Swarts will be joined by various Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
In addition, tree-planting activities will take place at Heritage Day events across all nine provinces, led by Premiers and/or MECs responsible for the Environment portfolio.
The One Million Trees Campaign, launched by Deputy Minister Swarts, is a boost to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Ten Million Trees Programme, which aims to plant 10 million trees over five years through the DFFE’s National Greening Programme. The initiative not only contributes to climate resilience but also raises awareness about the importance of tree planting, while encouraging individuals and organisations to pledge and actively take part in greening their environment.
Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the One Million Trees events as follows:
Pretoria Event
Date: 24 September 2025
Time: 10h00
Venue: Freedom Park Heritage Site & Museum, Corner Koch &, 7th Avenue, Salvokop, Pretoria
Oudtshoorn Event
Date: 24 September 2025
Time: 09h00
Venue: Dysselsdorp Secondary School, Deelmanstraat 1, Dysselsdorp, Oudtshoorn
Note to Editors:
Members of the media are also encouraged to contact their respective provincial environmental departments for details on One Million Trees activities in their localities.
To RSVP, please contact Michael Mokoena 082 867 5634 / mmokoena@dffe.gov.za or Kagiso Letsebe on 083 439 9755 / Kletsebe@dffe.gov.za or Paul Sigutya on 072 921 4457 / Psigutya@dffe.gov.za
For media enquiries, please contact:
Zolile Nqayi
Cell: 082 868 6483
E-mail: znqayi@dffe.gov.za
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