The two girls are on a mission to populate Hatcliffe with more trees

EnviroPress Reporter

Two inspiring teenagers are making a big difference in their community by planting trees and helping to green Hatcliffe, which is one of Harare’s most densely populated suburbs with the least number of trees.

Ivy Jaji (15) and Tiara Nyikadzino (14) have taken on the challenge of leading the Greening Hatcliffe Project, an initiative that aims to plant more trees and protect green spaces in their sprawling neighborhood.

The project follows the successful model of the Greening Kuwadzana Project and is part of the larger Green the Ghetto Movement, which works to bring more trees and nature to high-density and low-income suburbs. 

But Ivy and Tiara know that planting trees is just the beginning of long drawn out work to ensure that the environment gets greener.

“Planting is only 10% of the work. The real effort comes with watering, pruning, staking, mulching, and even creating fire guards to protect the young trees from veld fires,” explained Tiara.

For now, the two girls are doing much of the hard work themselves, including carrying water to nurture the young saplings.

“When other people start to realize the importance of greening our community, they would eventually join us,” said Ivy.

These young leaders are calling for support from the community in the form of printed T-shirts, bibs, or gardening tools to keep their mission growing. 

With their passion and hard work, Ivy and Tiara are proving that even the youngest among of people can help build a greener, healthier future.