Nelspruit Ring Road Tree Planting Project

At the completion of the new Nelspruit northern ring road, TRAC embarked on a tree-planting project comprising about 4 000 indigenous trees.

The trees were planted in October 2010 along the new highway and include species such as white stinkwood, fever trees, Natal mahogany, black monkey thorn, river bushwillow and marula. They were sourced from various local nurseries in the Lowveld and their planting and nurturing was overseen by Wildberry Nursery in White River.

“TRAC recognises the impact that road infrastructure development has on the environment and vegetation. As an environmentally conscious organisation, TRAC has undertaken this project to lessen the impact that construction had on the natural surroundings of the ring road,” said CEO Arthur Coy.

The project, valued at almost R1-million, was supported by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) and forms part of TRAC’s environmental management plan for this part of the N4.

Months of planning went into choosing specific trees for certain areas, as well as how they would be planted and nurtured. The tree planting project offered an opportunity to repopulate this beautiful part of the Lowveld with trees that are either indigenous to South Africa or endemic to this part of the world.

The protection of our environment is a collective effort and responsibility. The trees form part of our heritage and the legacy we will leave our children and future visitors to this part of Mpumalanga.