HIKING THE TSITSIKAMMA AND OUR FORESTS

Arriving back from a 5 day hike in the Tsitsikamma the hustle of cars back on the garden route feels almost to much to bear, crowds in a shopping centre and a short cue at the till in Checkers threatens to steel the peace that have filled my soul the past few days.

The Tsitsikamma feels like a different planet I left behind, a beautiful peace of paradise on SA soil that I will hopefully carry in my heart and memory forever..

Thinking back now I remember the overpowering presence of the forest with it’s giant trees incapsulating us in its body with running streams of fresh water, rich soil and diverse plant and mushroom life.

The small group of experienced hikers that I walked with respected the stillness of the forest, allowing us to hear the voices of the forest, the wind through the tree tops, chirping birds here and there and the flowing streams of water.

With my new found love for forests I needed to know more, here are some forest facts that I want to share with you.

Air

Forests clean the air by filtering pollutants and supplies 20% of Earths Oxygen.

It improves air quality and reduces the impact of poor air quality on human health.

Water

Pollutants from water are filtered reducing pollutant inputs associated with human land use. It also reduces soil erosion and sediment load.

Forests play a critical role in protecting the quality and safety of drinking water, which is closely tied to the prevention of water-related diseases.

Food

forests can provide a critical safety net by supplying micronutrients and protein from wild sources, which is especially important for children.

Human Health

Protecting forests are critical to safeguard human health, clean Air and Water contributes to better human health. It reduces the risk of infectious diseases and NCD risks like heart disease stroke pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Forests mediate the emergence and spread of zoonotic infectious disease and defend us against new infectious diseases . Deforestation increases the chance of disease spillover from animals to humans.

Research shows that exposure to forest can be very beneficial for your health from lowering blood pressure, increased happy hormones, lowering cortisol levels and much more.

Cools the Atmosphere

Extreme heat exposure has increased nearly 200%, affecting 1.7 billion people from 1983 to 2016, and extreme humid heat overall has more than doubled in frequency since 1979.* Forests can not only mitigate temperature extremes but can also limit the ability of humidity to climb to 100% where temperatures of 35oC exceed the capacity of the human body to cool itself, suggesting the increasing importance

of urban forests.

Protects against natural Disasters

Forests protect us against natural disasters like floods, avalanches, fires, storms and extreme heat that contributes to deaths, injuries and illnesses.

Deforestation continues alarmingly and 40% of our Earths forests have already been lost. Forests provide for us, heals and prevents, only humans can protect our precious forests. The question is where do we as ordinary people start. I guess awareness should be the first step.

Our Forests

HIKING THE TSITSIKAMMA AND OUR FORESTS

With my new found love for forests I needed to know more, here are some forest facts that I want to share with you.