Climate crisis pledge

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The community is asked to join in the fight for climate health. Take the step with Boplaas farm and plant a spekboom.

Boplaas has always been conservation minded. Now they have stepped up their drive and pledged to establish one million plants of the Portulacaria afra succulent variety – commonly known as the spekboom - before 2025.

The Boplaas farm folk say: "The world is at a tipping point and we should do everything in our power to avoid a global climate catastrophe. The spekboom that is indigenous to the Klein Karoo area is a carbon miracle worker.

"Spekboom, for the amount of water it uses, is the most efficient carbon sequester in the world. The humble spekboom can gobble up between four and 10 tons of carbon per hectare per year. But it needs our help. According to the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, the world currently produces 1 331 tons/sec of CO2.

"The goal at Boplaas is to escalate plantation of the spekboom through strategic partnerships and as a wider aim to spread awareness. Boplaas farm wants to encourage its cultivation in private gardens, on estates and on farms. It's not an impossible task - the spekboom is great at adapting to its surroundings and can flourish almost anywhere. It makes wonderful hedges and beautiful shrubs; and, can be planted in fields, flowerbeds and pots.

Boplaas has over 2 000 hectares of veld under conservation where the variety occurs naturally.

In addition to planting more, this project will actively distribute spekboom cuttings from the Calitzdorp farm and the wine tasting room in Little Brak River.

The organisers will also distribute information on how further cuttings can be made and the best way to plant them. The spekboom requires very little maintenance and can survive with only the most minimal amounts of water.

"If we can get 1 000 people to plant 100 plants, that's 100 000 spekboom shrubs helping us fight global climate change. For more information, email boplaas@mweb.co.za. You can also follow our progress by following Boplaas on facebook, Twitter and Instagram."

Carel Nel from Boplaas farm.