From left to right: Michael Peter (Executive Director, Forestry South Africa), Tebele Makhetha (Head of Corporate Affairs, Sappi Southern Africa), Duane Roothman (Vice President of Forestry, Sappi Southern Africa and Chairperson of Forestry SA), Minister Dion George, and Graeme Wild (CEO, Sappi Southern Africa).
In a fitting tribute to Arbour Week, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dion George, visited Sappi’s forestry operations in KwaZulu-Natal, together with industry representatives, and ceremonially planted six indigenous trees at the Sappi Shaw Research Centre.
The educational visit provided the minister and his delegation with a firsthand look at plantation forestry operations and the industry’s ongoing conservation efforts. The visit was organised in collaboration with PAMSA and Forestry South Africa.
Sappi used the opportunity to introduce the minister to its Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species (RTES) tree programme and the Miyawaki-style arboretum at the Shaw Research Centre.Inspired by the pioneering work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, the method involves planting indigenous trees in dense clusters to accelerate growth and restore biodiversity within compact spaces.
Minister Dion George with Wynand de Swardt, Divisional Nurseries Manager at Sappi Forests, during a visit to the Clan Nursery.