Baphumelele Fountain of Hope

The trees we planted here at Fountain of Hope are part of a holistic approach to healing our youth and the trauma that some of them have gone through. It’s also something that gives them a sense of responsibility, caring and taking care of this plant that started so fragile, and nurturing it to be a strong tree that can withstand almost anything. They get to see themselves in the development of the tree, so to speak.

• Sisipho
It is important to me because I get so many things from trees, wood, food, fresh air and they make nature look even better. They are natures best providers.

• Malikah
Tree planting is important to me because they provide so much for so little. They give us food, shade, and we can use their branches to build shelter for us and keep is warm.

• Abdullah
Trees are good for the environment because they give us air to breathe. They look nice and bring fresh air, they also provide us and animals with food.

• Mustapha
Planting trees is important because they give us the means to live. Trees provide homes for animals and birds. Planting trees makes us more caring towards the environment that we live in because we know that we are responsible for it.

• Noah
Tree planting is important to me because of the important role they play. Not only do they provide us with food and air, but shelter, shade and keep our soils firm and fertile. Thinking of global warming and how pollution has gotten out of control, planting more trees can go a long way in making the future of our planet better for the next generation.

"The idea of planting trees as a ritual creates an opportunity for people to be in touch with the earth, while also being in touch with each other, to be more present in the moment while planting the living, breathing forest of the future. One of the functions of a ritual is to bring the mind and the heart together. And the planting of even a single tree can create the opportunity for that to happen for more than one person. And if the planting of each tree can be done in a prayerful way, if the sapling is placed in the earth with a gesture of unity, if the young and the old are involved together, if the ritual is open minded and open hearted, so that everyone is invited to participate, then rituals of tree planting can be a living language for saying that we are all in this together.

We may hold different views or different beliefs. But we are all in the same story together. And feeling that, and knowing it body and soul, can be a medicine, an antidote for the unavoidable sense of sometimes feeling overwhelmed or discouraged in the face of what can at times seem like impossible tasks. For the danger is not only that the ecosystems collapse, but also that before we reach the point of disaster, human imagination fails to function, and we all fall out of the living story of the world. The instinctive idea of planting trees is not simply a literal strategy for cleansing the atmosphere and reducing carbon. Rather, it can be a creative and healing way for people to connect to the sacredness of life and the ever-living story of the earth." 

- Michael Meade, "Living Myth Podcast #163 - A Ritual for Planting Trees"