Johannesburg, 15 September 2010. First National Bank (FNB) Credit Card and Cheque account divisions in collaboration with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) are today planting 570 trees in the Lehae community in Soweto.

The 16th September marks another greening day for the residents of Olievenhoutbosch as Audi and FTFA celebrate Arbor Month and the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

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.

Over 2 500 €˜tree-preneurs€™ who plant, grow and sell indigenous trees are developing a regular source of income in areas with little or no access to formal employment, whilst greening the environment.

In support of this initiative and to recognise South Africa€™s 11th annual Arbour week from 1 to 7 September, Woolworths is supporting the planting of 3 000 indigenous trees in the Vosloorus (Gauteng) area of the programme.

Amanda Bourne (of the Climate Action Partnership) attended a presentation by IDEA WILD, a US NPO that supports biodiversity conservation efforts by raising funds and donating equipment to conservation researchers and projects. This includes office equipment and software, lab equipment, field equipment, and some costs such as for a field assistant or for fuel or transport costs up to the value of $1,500.00. It€™s a flexible system so you can get quite creative (though not too lavish) with requests.

November 2010 saw the germination of a South African Green Party on Facebook. The idea behind the group is to find alternative ways of living that allow us to enjoy all the benefits of 21st Century living, without jeopardizing the future for our children.

We want to get ALL those concerned about a sustainable society, where everyone survives comfortably and all species and natural resources are treasured, together on one page €“ and to form a unified voice for the earth within our country.

Ours is not a better way, ours is merely another way. The first annual Ecovillage Convergence in South Africa took place on 18-20 September 2009. This coming together of kindred spirits had been growing in the hearts of many who share the desire for authentic, earth-based living. The Convergence was intended as a `gathering of tribes` from fellow ecovillages and intentional communities in and around South Africa. The primary focus was to establish a living network through which communities and ecovillages may work together to raise awareness and facilitate the movement towards sustainable earth-based lifestyles around South Africa. The call was put out to all known established and emerging communities, ecovillages and projects countrywide. This intent was synchronistically reinforced when a fellow community planned the same event on the same date!

The Gospel of Thomas reflects the consciousness underlying an earth-based way of life: `If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.` The realisation that there`s more to life than slaving away our precious moments, serving the intellect, is the first step towards releasing ourselves from the prison warder€™s mindset that has dominated for centuries.

Living simply is an idea many people are starting to wake up to. The era in which we consumed without regard to where our products come from, or where it is going after use, is over. A new era is dawning, one in which we, as collective humanity wake up to our unique place in the cosmos. An era in which we comprehend the reality of our present predicament & look within ourselves for answers, instead of without. One in which we truly embrace our individual power, become sovereign onto ourselves & create the new world in which we wish to live & leave behind.

Since 1981, World Food Day is celebrated on October 16th of every year to raise awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger. The facts are still shocking: According to the 2010 Global Hunger Index 925 million of the world's population do not have access to sufficient food and drinking water. Consequently, every day 24.000 people die of hunger. To showcase and explain existing policies that can help solve this tragic global failure, on World Food Day 2010 the Hamburg-based World Future Council Foundation will launch a new €Agriculture and Food€ section on their policy solutions website www.futurepolicy.org.

Enviroworks, a consulting firm specializing in environmental management, wanted to do something in response to email requests received during World Environment Week to give back to less resourced communities. What better mechanism, they thought, than to help sustain the magic of soil?

120 volunteers from Japan visited Swartkop Valley Primary School to help improve their food garden.

The school, near Muldersdrift in Gauteng, initiated a permaculture food garden with funding from SASOL and Woolworths, while Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) have been providing permaculture training and materials since 2006. The gardens have been visited as a food security model.

At the beginning of a fresh new year, we like to do a collage of what images carry energy for us €“ and pop them together in a type of road map for the year.

What is your vision for the year? What would you like to manifest in your life, your community, your country €“ what is your vision for the planet?

A creative climate change communications conference 'Tipping Point€ was held at the Spier Wine Estate. For two days, scientists and artists gathered to participate in dialogue around how best to communicate climate change to our society in a fun and effective way. Jessica Thorn was invited to attend on behalf of the Climate Action Partnership (CAP) €“ an alliance of conservation NGOs working together to adapt and mitigate climate change at a landscape level, and as part of the scientific community involved in the climate change sector. She wrote this story for us.