The Carbon Standard looks at the carbon emitted by a range of activities (energy usage for air conditioners, computers and copiers) land and air travel, mounds of paper and other carbon impacts and calculates out how many trees you will need to plant to sink that carbon through the process of photosynthesis - where trees convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. Trees provide us with the air we breathe and absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale, and that our current carbon based society emits in large quantities.

 

National greening organisation Food & Trees for Africa selects sites for the planting of the trees through its award winning Trees for Homes programme that is inundated with requests from underserved communities. They will arrange procurement, transport, delivery and planting of the trees with the beneficiary communities, issue a carbon offset certificate and list the tree funder on the website for R70 per tree inclusive.

 

In addition to trapping the carbon that is one of the major greenhouse gases, the trees planted contribute to improved water, energy, soil and noise management, food security (fruit and nut trees), enrich lives and cultivate healthier more sustainable communities.

 

The Carbon Standard marketing, handled by Interactive Africa, provides a powerful way for companies to increase their positioning, marketing and commitment to climate change and sustainable development, as well as improve customer and staff relations and confidence.

 

Carbon Standard auditors PriceWaterhouse Coopers advices companies to use the global Greenhouse Gas Reporting Protocol (GHG Protocol), which aims to standardize GHG accounting and reporting standards internationally to ensure that different trading platforms and other climate related initiatives adopt consistent approaches to GHG accounting, as well as averages and other information.

 

Leading environmental law practice Edward Nathan (Pty) Ltd is the Carbon Standard’s legal advisor.

 

If you do not meet this basic Carbon Standard you are perpetuating the problem. The world we will leave for our children will be severely degraded. This is an initiative you cannot afford to ignore.

 

Contact for more information or simply send in your electricity usage per month/year, your local and international travel figures per year and your paper usage per year and we will do the calculations and send you the number of trees needed to offset your emissions. Alternatively if you would like this to be audited (an additional cost of around R5 000) we will get PriceWaterhouse Coopers to contact you.

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This feature article is brought to you by Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA)

 

Founded in 1990 by a group of individuals concerned with the state of South Africa’s environment, Food & Trees for Africa's (FTFA) work has been recognised and commended by most government departments and even the United Nations, who appointed Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) as a laureate in the Global 500 Roll of Honour. The organisation has won numerous awards and continues to strive towards helping all communities throughout Southern Africa achieve a greener, healthier more sustainable quality of life.

Cook the whole cauliflower in a little bit of water until it is just tender. Smother with the zesty tomato sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and serve with crusty brown bread.

These are pampoen vetkoekies - an old-time favourite

Makes 25 servings

Eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day

 

Most of us know that to be healthy we must have a balanced diet. This means that we should eat something from each of the three food groups every day; body building foods (proteins), energy foods (carbohydrates, fats and oils) and protective foods (vegetables and fruits).

There's much more to gardening than just growing vegetables or pretty flowers. There are many benefits that come with growing a garden. What we are doing is bringing nature into our homes and lives. By creating a garden, we develop skills and gain knowledge. We also create a beautiful, peaceful and even productive environment that benefits the health and wellbeing of the whole family or community.

As part of an organic gardening practice, companion planting is used. This is the art of planting certain plants together – because they are good for one another, and avoiding planting certain other plants together, because they don’t grow well together.  As with relationships between people, certain plants like and dislike one another, so we plant certain herbs with vegetables to improve their growth and flavour – and some of the herbs also have strong scents which repel harmful pests or may attract beneficial insects.

For very little money and effort, you can have the healthiest soil around.  Here¹s how to make lovely compost that¹ll give you prize fruit and veggies.  In our last article "Don't Panic - It's Organic" we gave you a taste of what materials should go into a good compost heap. Now here is the nitty gritty.

Plants get most of their nutrients (food) from the soil. With the help of microorganisms (tiny living particles in the soil), the mineral and organic matter in the soil is processed into a form that plants can use. These nutrients dissolve (break down) in the water in the soil and are taken into the plants through their roots.

Organic gardening is the best way to get the most out of your soil and crops ­ after all, it¹s the way nature designed things! Dave Golding tells you how it works.

Did you know that all life on earth is sustained by only one percent of available water. Isn¹t that a miracle?  While most of the earth¹s surface is covered in water, 97 percent is seawater. Most of the remaining three percent is locked up in ice caps and glaciers, deep underground or suspended as vapour in the air.