The wine industry and subsequent vineyard footprint took an exponential spike in the early 2000s, with 95% of South Africa’s wines produced in the Cape Winelands.
This has created a huge impact on the environment and threatened several habitats. The Cape Winelands is also home to two biodiversity hotspots – the Succulent Karoo and the Cape Floral Region – both of which can’t be found anywhere else on the globe.
READ: 7 must-visit nature reserves in the magnificent Cape Floral Region
This is why Boland Cellar in Paarl valley has collaborated with The Bee Effect to form The Boland Trees for Bees Pledge Fund.
The Fund – founded in February 2020 – supports the planting of trees that provide habitats and food for honeybees in South Africa. Every bottle of wine will go toward planting a tree.
This project will be implemented through Cape Town-based non-profit organisation Greenpop.
Greenpop works to ‘restore ecosystems and empower environmental stewards through forest restoration, urban greening, food gardening, and environmental awareness projects across Sub- Saharan Africa’, according to their website.
Greenpop is also a supporting partner in The United Nations (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration initiative; a global rallying cry for the prevention of further damage and restoration of current damage to all ecosystems on Earth.
Founder of The Bee Effect, Eve Puttergill commented: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be part of the commitment Boland Cellar has made towards our honeybees. As a founding partner of the Boland Trees for Bees Programme they are supporting our target to plant 37,000 bee-friendly trees by 2025 at a value of around R4,5 million.
‘We are also encouraging other brands to pledge their support. This will allow us to ramp up our efforts to address one of the key stressors – a lack of diverse foraging – threatening honey bee populations.’
Honeybees play a pivotal role in sustaining ecosystems worldwide and face an array of threats that have led to their global decline, including climate change, habitat fragmentation and degradation and habitat loss. These factors are compounded by a lack of forage, environmental pollution and pesticides.
The Boland Trees for Bees Pledge Fund aims to plant 36 000 bee-friendly trees by 2025, for a total of R4.5 million.
To date, 2525 trees have been planted in total and R303 020 has been raised, of which 1672 trees and R200 750 came from Boland Cellar.
To donate, click here.
Picture: Unsplash
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