The copyright act of 1978 (as amended) prohibits the reproduction of this copy IN ANY FORMAT, (See Clause 4 Terms and Conditions) without prior permission of the original publisher. Publication YOU Page 16-17 Date Wed 01 Jan 2020 AVE (ZAR) 105474.69 YOU NEWS HEY wanted to make ama- jor statement, one climate change denialists would find impossibleto ignore. And that'sexactlywhat they'redoing.Their GreatLabyrinth ofAfrica - with dimensionsroughly the sameasthe largestofthe Ancient Egyptianpyramids - is taking shapeamongthe rolling hills ofStellenbosch in theWestern Cape.And it will even- tually be sovastthat astronautswill be ableto seeit from space,saysPeter Shrimpton,founderofthe GreatLaby- rinth ofAfricaproject. But it won't bebuilt frombrick or stone. Insteadit'll be made almostentirely out of spekboomplants - 90000ofthem to be precise. The purpose: to serve as a living re- minder that it'severyperson'sdutyto be mindful oftheir carbonfootprint.Asthey walkthe 13circuitsofthe leafylabyrinth, visitors are meant to meditate on what they can do to cut their wasteful con- sumptionhabits.Thelabyrinthwillbethe largestin Africa when it opensthis year and has the same design as that of the ChartresCathedral labyrinth in France. Using spekboomplants to shapethe new global landmark wasn't a random decision.The distinctive succulentis all therageright now - andforgoodreason. Research showsone mature spekboom can absorbup to 8,5kgofcarbondioxide (CO;) a year,which makesthe plants 10 timesmore effectiveat reducing carbon in the atmospherethan tropical rain- foresttrees. With globalwarming now suchan ur- gent issue, many South Africans are choosingto plant the humblesucculent in their gardensin thehopeit'll helpslow the paceofclimatechange. Addingto theplant'sappealis that it's hardy,waterwiseand low-maintenance - soeven if you don't have greenfingers this is one plant you should be able to keepalive. MIRACLE PLANT The spekboomis indigenous to South Africa and doesn't occurnaturally any- where elsein the world, saysProfessor StefanSiebertofthe botanydepartment atNorth-West University. It's also one of the few plants in the 16 | 30 JANUARY 2020you.co.za THE A-MAZE-ING ' SPEKBOOM A labyrinth madeofthe indigenoussucculent will raiseawarenessofourcarbonfootprint BY CHARLEASIEBERHAGEN-GREY world thatreleasesoxygendayandnight. As a result,onehectare ofspekboomcan absorbbetweenfour and 10tons of car- bon a year, Siebert says. "Due to their efficientphotosynthesis, spekboom are ideal as a resource to counterclimatechange;"hesays. In addition, the evergreen succulent hasseveralotheruses.Tortoisesand ele- phants go crazy for its juicy leaves,Sie- y" bert says.But peoplecanalsotuck in. "Its leaveshave a slight lemony taste andthey're popular in saladswith toma- toesand chickpeas," he says. The leaves are rich in vitamin C and you can suckthem to quenchyour thirst or chewthem to relieve a sorethroat, he adds.Or you can crush them to treat a range of nigglessuch asblisters, insect bites and sunburn. GREATLABYRINTHOF AFRICA:THE NUMBERS Its dimension insquare metres. i Thenumberof _ | i lanesofhedging| +makingupits i 13circuits. The number of plantsin | everymetre. i _ Howmanytonsof i COztheplants inthe i - labyrinthwillabsorb |_ everyyear. Thenumber | ofyearsa spekboom canlive. Howmanytonsof CO2 South Africa releases intothe atmospher e everyyear. Howmanyspekboomtrees + = wouldhaveto beplantedto neutralise SA'stotal carbon footprint.