As South Africans celebrate Arbor Month this September, Lasher Tools will be donating THIRTY trees to two schools in Gauteng.

The first stop was at the Diepsloot Combined School in the north of Johannesburg, where 16 indigenous trees were planted on Spring Day, 1 September 2017. The school has become a beacon of hope for the disadvantaged community of Diepsloot; a centre of learning for the township youth, a refuge from parental abuse and a place to get a daily meal.

Lasher Tools partnered with an NGO called Eco Culture who assisted with the tree planting and showed learners how to care for the trees. To help the school with tending the trees, Lasher Tools donated garden tools to the value of R5,000.

Eco Culture is a social enterprise that focuses on developing and implementing environmental sustainability programmes in both schools and communities. Their areas of expertise are biodiversity, waste management, food security, renewable energy and water saving. They work closely with seven beneficiary schools in Cosmo City and two of them have been awarded an international Green Flag, with some of the other schools soon to follow suit. This prestigious environmental excellence award is given after continuously displaying environmental teaching, learning and sustainability for five years.

“We are excited to partner with Eco Culture for tree planting and eco-education this Arbor Month. At Lasher Tools we place great importance on the preservation of the environment and the development of our youth, which makes this partnership with Eco Culture a perfect fit”, said Ian Kendall, MD of Lasher Tools.

“Planting trees at schools is not just about creating shade, oxygen, a habitat for animals or an attractive school yard. It is about leaving a legacy that may last a few hundred years. The education aspect will hopefully change a lot more than just the school environment, but also the lifestyle and behaviour of all the participants. Lasher’s commitment to creating a healthy environment will definitely go a long way”, explained Alexander Frost , Chairperson of Eco Culture.

The second school will be determined via an online campaign. Learners and their parents will be invited to nominate their school via Lasher’s Facebook Page by identifying indigenous trees planted on their school grounds. The aim of the campaign is to educate children on the indigenous trees of South Africa and to encourage interest in the conservation of these trees.

The winning school will receive ten indigenous trees to be planted on their premises, as well as a full set of gardening tools. A team from Lasher Tools will visit the school to help learners plant the trees and to show them how to use the tools donated.

About Lasher

Founded in 1928, Lasher Tools is the leading supplier of quality guaranteed hand tools for the DIY, gardening, agriculture, construction, industrial and mining industries in South Africa.

They are immensely proud of being the only local manufacturer of hand tools in the country. In 2016, Lasher Tools was awarded for loyalty, commitment and compliance to the SABS Quality Management System Certification Scheme.

The name of the company has its history in mining. The task of removing rock and rubble with shovels was known as lashing and the Scottish miners who came to South Africa at the turn of the last century were known as “lashers”.