Platbos Reforest Fest

From the 11 to 13 May this year, Greenpop is hosting the 2nd Reforest Fest at Platbos forest. A weekend festival with a difference: plant over 1000 trees, camp in the ancient Platbos forest, enjoy live music under the tree canopy and more.

The festival is a celebration centred around growing and replanting the forest and will see over 100 people coming together to plant over 1000 trees! There’ll also be great live music, educational forest walks, morning yoga and more.

Platbos is an ancient forest near Stanford in the Overberg region just 1 and a half hours from Cape Town. A coming together of coastal and mountainous forest, Platbos has a unique mix of indigenous trees and is one of South Africa’s natural treasures.

Like many natural forests around the world, parts of Platbos have been cleared over the past decades for cultivation. Today, many of these cleared areas are being taken over by dense invasive alien vegetation, which pose a serious fire risk to the forest.

 

In response to this issue, Melissa and Francois Krige of Platbos have launched the Trees for Tomorrow reforestation programme. Through this, endemic seeds are harvested from the forest, reared in the Platbos Forest Tree Nursery and then replanted to extend and grow the forest. It’s important to plant these endemic trees because they are adapted to drought and serve as an important food source for the bird and animal species that live here.

Every year, just before the rains come in May, Platbos prepares to plant out the saplings. Last year at the first Greenpop Reforest Fest, they had 100 people lending a hand and managed to plant 1324 trees in 1 weekend to help replant and grow the forest. This year they’re aiming for even more.

Over 100 people will be camping under the magical forest canopy. Saturday will be entirely dedicated to tree planting and in the evening, festival goers will be treated to great live music. There will be delicious food, morning yoga, forest walks and interesting talks - a festival with a difference.

♪ Musical performances:

• Jeremy Loops and Co
• Nate Mainguard
• TouchWood
• Bobzyouruncle
• and more

By actively planting trees in these once forested areas, we will be:

• Helping to restore the forest to its former glory.
• Halting the advance of the encroaching alien vegetation (the alien seed is unable to germinate beneath the forest canopy.)
• Conserving the biodiversity of this unique forest environment and increasing its surface area for future generations and the many creatures that depend on it.
• Extending the forest’s carbon sink capacity through tree planting and by so doing contributing towards world-wide efforts to counteract the effects of global warming and climate change.

Prices include all meals (Friday eve to Sunday lunch), cool music, planting activities, tools, talks and fun. Please note these are early bird prices for bookings made before 25 April:

• R450 for camping in Platbos forest (highly recommended)
• R275 for under 12s (camping)
• R570 per person for dorm bed at de Uijlenes farmhouse down the road
• R395 for under 12s (dorm bed in farm house)

 

5 fast forest facts:

• Forests cover 31% of the world’s total land area while at the same time supporting 80% of terrestrial biodiversity that live in them ~ UNEP.
• Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, making them crucial to sustaining ecosystems. Not only animals live in the forests, they also provide a home to more than 300 million people ~ UNEP.
• To make up for the world’s loss of trees in the past decade, we need to plant about 14 billion trees every year for 10 years in a row ~ UNEP.
• Less than 0.56% of South Africa is covered by indigenous forest.
• Forests play a key role in our battle against climate change; storing carbon and sucking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into their biomass ~ UNEP.

Reforest Fest Special Deals

• Book for 5, bring 6!

Bring 5 friends and get a 6th place free

• Trees for Fees!

Raise 10 trees for the Platbos forest and get a free place to come along for the weekend. Start an Activist page on GivenGain to raise money for trees easily.

• Trees for Fees (personal tree purchase)