Staff members of Eskom did not want to be spectators of the Arbor Week celebrations and took a few minutes off their schedules to plant trees at their Thohoyandou area office on Friday morning.

The staff members were expanding the theme of this year, which says Plant a tree – Grow our future.

Mr Thiofhi Ratshitanga of the Eskom Thohoyandou Area Office Communication Unit said his organization is conscious of the importance of the environment. "Apart from our primary aim of providing electricity to the public, we also have many roles to play in the development of the communities we serve. There is a need to remind our people that it is good to care for our environment. As a responsible organization, we are deeply concerned about the people who do not respect our natural resources like tree. Cutting down trees unnecessarily has a negative impact on our ecosystem."

Ratshitanga said Eskom has been engaged in the preservation of the environment for a long time. "We have programmes that are aimed at educating our staff members and communities about the importance of Nature. It is very painful to see people destroying natural resources like trees, instead of protecting them. By planting the trees ourselves, we want to send a clear message to everyone that trees are the source of life for every one of us."

He said preserving natural resources helps the coming generations. "How will our children and grandchildren know these trees if we continue to chop them down? We have to preserve them and plant more trees, for the sake of our future generations."