How can we protect and restore our forests and ecosystems as urbanisation continues to expand? One way is to be a part of a growing, global, green movement at Greenpopʼs seven-day sustainability festival. This year will be Greenpopʼs 10th annual Festival of Action, welcoming all ages at the spectacular Wild Spirit Lodge on the Garden Route from 2 – 9 October 2022.
Restoring degraded landscapes is vital to prolonging life on earth. As a precursor to the upcoming COP27 conference in November seeking to accelerate global climate action, Greenpop is gearing up for local climate action, to unite in the community, and get active (not anxious) for the future of the planet.
During previous years, the Eden Festival of Action has already seen magnificent success.
Between 2018 – 2021:
- 10,303 trees have been planted
- More than 8600 ha of alien vegetation was cleared
- 20,300 plant-based meals were eaten
- 99 students’ tickets were sponsored to attend the festival
- 790 eco-bricks were filled
Greenpopʼs restoration festival combines practical ecosystem restoration work like tree-planting, with a full line-up of workshops, talks and activities from sustainability experts. The evenings are filled with campfire sessions, storytelling and music from some of South Africaʼs finest musicians.
Hosted at Wild Spirit Lodge, located near Plettenberg Bay in the heart of the Garden Route, the event is situated amongst the indigenous forests of the Tsitsikamma National Park and pristine beaches. It is the perfect place to immerse in nature and give back to the surrounding area which is still suffering after devastating fires wreaked havoc on large areas in 2017. After these fires, Cape Town-based urban greening and reforestation organisation Greenpop was approached by various NGOs and community organisations to begin working in the area.
Energised as an implementation partner to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, advocating for the halt of ecosystem degradation, the local NGO Greenpop is aiming, through this event to promote a new culture of restoration, highlighting its importance when trying to undertake the planet’s biggest issues such as climate change and food security.
Expert facilitators: Nature-based Solutions
Nature-based solutions are integral to ensuring a livable future for both our people and our planet. They are defined as solutions that are cost-effective, inspired and supported by nature, and provide social and economic benefits to help build resilience. Greenpopʼs expert facilitators work with nature-based solutions to relieve myriad environmental challenges, including the worst effects of climate change, disaster risk, and biodiversity loss.
Wild Foraging with Roushanna Gray
Veld and Sea founder, Roushanna Gray will be hosting a foraging workshop at the event in the surrounding forest. She shares her wild foraged food experiences, from harvesting to meal preparation, bringing nature to the table.
Natural Building with Ansgar von Oertzen
Aer studying architecture in Germany, Ansgar von Oertzen found his passion for sustainable and natural building with eco-architects in Cape Town. Based on the Garden Route, Ansgar is a renowned local expert who will be sharing his knowledge of various building methods from cob construction, straw bale or light straw clay building to rammed earth construction, adobe, and sandbag.
Permaculture Principles with Alex Kruger
Alex Kruger will be sharing in Permaculture & Agroforestry first principles – Applying succession processes we see in the forest to regenerative agriculture. “Learning from the forest so we can do things better, grow food and wood materials in a sustainable way, which mimics nature, and supports restoring natural systems”.
At the Eden Festival of Action in 2022, Greenpop plans to plant 2000-3000 indigenous trees, participate in much-needed alien clearing and host talks and workshops on sustainability. They will be inviting an array of NGO partners to attend to engage in further conversations imperative to furthering climate restoration work advocacy.
The event is structured around three main pillars: Landscape, Community & Self, and will be focussing on the following themes: Ecosystem Restoration, Urban Greening, Green Economy, Environmental Activism, Creativity for Change and Cultivating Wellbeing.
The Eden Festival of Action aims to create an empowered regenerative community, equipping participants to become custodians of the natural world, moving from commitment to action.
Greenpop aims to make events accessible and fun! Through their scholarship programme, they enable local youth from the surrounding communities to attend the event and learn from sustainability experts. In addition, participants can fundraise to earn a free ticket to the event through their Trees for Fees programme.
Rates: R4 500 pp, includes all-access to the event, a place to pitch your tent, three meals per day, snacks, all workshops and activities.
Visit www.festivalofaction.com to learn more about the event and book your space.
Who is Greenpop?
The Greenpop Foundation NPC is an award-winning registered non-profit organisation headquartered in Cape Town. They work to restore ecosystems and empower environmental stewards through forest restoration, urban greening, food gardening, and environmental awareness projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Greenpop was founded in 2010 and has since planted over 192,000 trees and inspired over 355,000 active citizens across South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. Email: [email protected]
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