HERD - Community Development Project

We are happy to report back on our community work at HERD Trust. 

Four of the five trees that we planted at the Jemeyana Primary School, formerly known as Mpisi Primary School in Acornhoek, are still growing well; unfortunately, one of the trees was accidentally broken by some rough play. The more trees planted the better, as we know it’s difficult for little feet and hands to be gentle when excited. The vegetable garden at the school is not currently very green and abundant, but this is likely due to it having been a long hard winter, and we are sure the summer will bring new crops.However, we have had a bumper crop of mangoes this year, which the students at the school thoroughly enjoyed. 

The fruit trees we planted at the school are growing well, and we hope that in the next year, there will be a variety of fruit for the children to eat. 

Our next visit to the school, during which we will redo and better enhance the vegetable gardens, will be in early September. The kids loved the watermelons we planted previously and this is the perfect growing season for them. 

Water is the main issue at the school. We are currently looking at installing a better watering system through drip irrigation, which does not need to be constantly monitored; rather, it can be set to a timer. 

We would like to thank GlobalGiving and our incredible donors for all the support they have given to us in our bid to assist the local communities around HERD. As the first rains come and the trees start sprouting again, we will be able to send some updated images of the trees. 

Thank you for all your support for our community school initiative and for helping us to build strong little learners who will become our next generation of conservation custodians. 

Warm Regards, 

Adine and the HERD Team