by Caroline Walker and Lesley Odendal
I’m trying to imagine what my dream weekend would have been as a child. Being allowed to play in as much dirt as you want, digging holes, huge spades, planting trees, playing in trees, hula hooping, yoga, delicious food, camping. I think Greenpop’s Reforest Family Fest has come pretty close.
This was the third year Greenpop has hosted the Reforest Fest with Francois Krige at Platbos Forest and the first year to hold the Family Fest. The Family Fest, a week before the Friends Fest and conveniently the weekend of Mother’s Day, focused on families planting together and learning about the magic of the Platbos Forest, which is nestled between Hermanus and Gansbaai. Explaining the redevelopment of the forest after a fire and years of agricultural farming, custodian of the forest Francois Krige hinted at this magic, saying he didn’t know exactly why it had survived. Yet this harsh legacy left the forest vulnerable to alien plant invaders (particularly the rooi krans) whose domination threatens the vitality of the forest. Enter Greenpop and the family fest planters who planted 2000 indigenous trees.
The drive to Platbos was beautiful and on arriving we were easily charmed by the solar-powered fairy lights adorning the milkwoods and casually strewn hula hoops of the camp. A relaxed Friday evening of delicious veggie stew and casual introductions around the fire meant we were full of energy for a busy day on Saturday.
After an early start on planting day, the 130 planters were shown the special planting technique best suited for the forest. We paid careful attention to the instructions and children and adult planters alike were eager to lend a digging hand during the demonstration. Trees were planted in clusters of six, about 30cm apart from each other. Planting in this way allows for roots to share nutrients and water, especially important in relatively dry areas. Species planted in the clusters included a combination of the beautiful wild olive, the milk/stink wood and white peach, known for its waxy white flowers. We were encouraged to position the trees in a crescent shape to allow for good drainage of rain water. Planting was concluded with mulching (a process as fun to do as it is to say), before moving onto the next hole. The crescent shape distribution was repeated, mimicking a fish scale pattern of planting.
The spirit of teamwork was strong among and between families. To make sure no one got too tired, a Refreshment station was set up next to the planting area, where children (and unfit writers) could colour-in, hang out and enjoy energising Sir Juice. Despite the breaks, we had planted 1700 trees by mid-afternoon. Our final push was boosted by the arrival of some of the band members of Trenton and Free Radicals who were set to perform that evening, who provided some encouraging forest tunes to count down the last 100 trees that needed to be planted.
After a successful day of digging, mulching and transforming barren land into a forest of new trees, it was time to celebrate with our newly-made friends. The evening kicked off with a last minute talent show which included an impressive assortment of knock-knock jokes, guitar ballads, some Gangnam style, Australian storytelling and beautiful poetry from Greenpop’s Kelvin. Next was the charismatic Croc-e Moses followed by the talented and beautiful women of TouchWood to whom we danced to ward off the cold. It looked and felt like a music festival, yet cleaner and more relaxed. As the evening wore on and young’uns went to sleep, we were treated to an intimate performance by Trenton and Free Radical – the perfect end to a great day.
Sunday introduced itself with sunshine and educational forest games, along with the odd sore back after all the digging. Francois took a group on a guided tour of the forest while others remained to relax under the forest canopy doing crafts and face painting. Jani from Beaming Kids provided yoga classes for the children- allowing mothers even more time to relax.
Mother’s Day was celebrated with a moving tree planting ceremony where each child and mother alike was encouraged to spend one moment thinking about their mother and to use one word to describe her. Having overheard one of the mothers say after the ceremony that time with her family was the best Mother’s Day gift, it was clear that Greenpop had achieved their weekend objectives – not only did they exceed their expectations of the number of trees planted (the initial target was 1500), but they provided an opportunity for people from all age groups to come together and learn from each other while enjoying a few days in nature.
And all was repeated a weekend later at the Friends Fest. Held the following weekend the slightly more crowded festival did not hinder the magical spell that Platbos seems to cast. With plenty of extra hands on deck and the type of energy that only a Greenpop event can conjure, it was clear it would be just as successful and amazing as Family Fest. The weekend had the same rollout as the first – fairly chill Friday evening (though with a bit more of a party vibe) followed by glorious tree planting on Saturday.
The extra hands really did make a difference. Come lunchtime on Saturday, there was a rumour abuzz that all 2000 trees were already planted. Suspicions were confirmed after everyone ate their Fry’s burgers (washed down by Mitchell’s beer, of course) that in fact 2000 trees had been planted by lunchtime. That didn’t mean the work was over, however. No, with a whole afternoon ahead and a nursery not too far away full of saplings, it was announced that 1000 more trees would be planted! Feeling revitalised, the tree planters marched back to the planting site with determination in their step. Needless to say, everyone pulled through, and 3000 trees were planted in one day – setting a Greenpop record.
That evening a celebratory spirit filled the forest as everyone indulged in delicious food and great music. The energy of these post-tree planting parties is indescribable – there’s something about earning a party that makes it that much better, and it certainly was earned. Greenpoppers new and old danced the night away to music by Holiday Murray and Green Grass Grow, and the party carried on late into the night with DJ’s Bob’s your Uncle and Kimon.
Sunday saw a slightly later start to the day, but once everyone was served breakfast, they were ready to participate in some fun forest activities. Quite an array of activities took place (ranging from a forest walk with Francois to a conspiracy theory discussion around the campfire) and each one thoroughly enjoyed by all participants. With the end of lunch came the end of the festival, and the tree planters were sent on their way once again, left to wait in anticipation of next year’s Reforest Fest.
To see pictures of the Family Fest weekend taken by Lesley Odendal and Caroline Walker, go here.
To Watch the “What’s Cool ” Video of the event, go here. 