South Africans will be mobilised to plant 10 million trees on Heritage Day, 24 September, as part of the Presidency’s broader One Billion Trees Programme, government announced on Tuesday. The campaign aims to build climate resilience, increase greenery in communities and raise environmental awareness ahead of the summer rainfall season.
Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Bernice Swarts will lead the main planting event at Freedom Park in Pretoria. She will then join the Gauteng Member of the Executive Council for Environment, Ewan Botha, at a second high-profile planting in Noordgesig, Soweto. President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead the Western Cape flagship event in George, ahead of national Heritage Day commemorations.
National reach and participating sectors
The drive forms part of the Presidential One Billion Trees Programme and will see activities coordinated across all nine provinces. According to the announcement, organisers will call on a broad range of sectors to take part, including:
- national and provincial government departments, led by premiers and MECs responsible for environmental affairs;
- business and the private sector;
- interfaith organisations and traditional leaders;
- the diplomatic corps and non-governmental organisations;
- youth formations and community groups.
The campaign’s stated goals are to mitigate the effects of climate change, promote environmental stewardship and encourage local ownership of greening projects. Planting efforts on Heritage Day are intended to be both symbolic and practical: they mark a national day of remembrance while contributing to longer-term landscape restoration and community shading.
Where the main events will be held
| Location | Lead official(s) |
|---|---|
| Freedom Park, Salvokop, Pretoria (Gauteng) | Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts |
| Noordgesig, Soweto (Gauteng) | Gauteng MEC for Environment Ewan Botha |
| George (Western Cape) | President Cyril Ramaphosa |
Provincial authorities have been asked to coordinate parallel planting activities so that every province records participation. The announcement indicated that premiers and provincial MECs for the environment will lead local events, while municipalities and ward councillors will facilitate grassroots involvement.
Practical considerations and likely impacts
The success of a single-day planting drive depends on follow-up care. Seedlings require watering, protection from livestock, and oversight through establishment phases. The announcement did not detail long-term maintenance plans or funding commitments for aftercare, leaving those crucial steps to provincial and municipal coordination, civil society partners and private-sector sponsors.
Experts generally warn that mass planting campaigns must be matched with species selection suited to local ecologies, community buy-in and resourcing for survival beyond the planting day. The Presidency’s One Billion Trees Programme has previously stressed the need for strategic siting and monitoring; this Heritage Day activity represents a concentrated mobilisation within that wider framework.
Organisers encouraged South Africans to join local events and said more information would be circulated through provincial environmental departments and municipal channels. The campaign also invited participation from schools, faith groups and community organisations to ensure broad civic involvement.
Details are still being finalised in some provinces and further logistical information is expected ahead of 24 September. WE NEWS will continue to monitor planning updates and report on provincial roll-outs and post-planting follow-up measures.
