Pick n Pay, together with Food & Trees for Africa's (FTFA) award-winning Trees for Homes Programme, yesterday planted 66 trees at K206 Park in Alexandra in celebration of Arbor Month.

Recently 14 000 families were relocated to free-standing and double-storey RDP houses in River Park in Alexandra, Gauteng and it is hoped that the planting of the trees will go a long way in helping the new community to put down roots and improve their environment. The allocation of housing continues to be one of the most challenging aspects of any new development in the area, where land originally intended for road construction has now been rezoned for residential development.

Said Bronwen Rohland, Director of Sustainable Development for Pick n Pay: 'As the country's greenest retailer we embrace the opportunity to not only provide much-needed trees in new developments such as K206 Park, but also to celebrate Arbor Month. We would like to encourage our customers to plant their own trees at their homes and in their communities, and to assist them in doing this, trees can be purchased at Pick n Pay stores around the country or online at www.picknpay.co.za during the whole of September.'

Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty