Imagine communities where every tree planted is a story shared.
— a movement igniting positive change, one community at a time.
From three Change Makers to a network
Launched in 2023, the movement centres on the Change Maker Program, a voluntary four-month program where women and men across urban and rural communities plant trees, share their stories, and act on the change they want to see around them.
What started with three change makers has grown organically to more than 110 active participants across Gauteng, the Free State, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the North West, with over 8,500 trees planted in backyards, schools, churches, and community centres — recognised by the Mail & Guardian Award for Biodiversity Stewardship in December 2024.
In 2025, we introduced the She Evolves School Competition, which invites students to create green spaces of reflection and explain, in their own words, what caring for their living environment means for their school and community. Across 2025 and 2026, the competition has reached 56 schools, engaged 560 students, and supported the planting of 1,050 trees.
Who we are
1000 Stories 100'000 Trees is a collaborative grassroots project initiated by She Evolves. As a team we have been brought together by our collective vision to address the social challenges communities are facing today and to provide a practical response to the impact of climate change facing communities across South Africa and the continent.
Christina Vestey
I am the Founder and Project Manager of 1000 Stories 100’000 Trees; a collaborative grassroots project initiated by She Evolves. She Evolves operates under the umbrella of its parent organisation, SEED Community. I am the founder and CEO of SEED Community and the founder and co-ordinator of She Evolves.
1000 Stories 100’000 Trees emerged from my own personal story. At a time of profound loss, I found that planting trees and connecting to the earth held me and supported my grief in a way that was so gentle and healing. I believe our stories are embedded in the landscape and the land knows when we are lost.
My passion for creating spaces where women can share their voices has grown more fervent. We witness the increasing global injustices and the internal damage they embed as Black African women remain without a platform that is rightfully theirs. Their voices are necessary, powerful and inspiring. They speak of our shared humanity.
1000 Stories, 100,000 Trees is She Evolves’ commitment to bring communities together, women and men alike, to share their stories and plant the change they want to see in the world. The She Evolves School Competition extends this further, engaging children as changemakers in their own communities and schools.
She Evolves is for women to see themselves reflected, to see themselves as the agents of change within their communities.
Project Steering Committee
She Evolves 1000 Stories 100000 trees is deeply grateful for the continued guidance and support of our Steering Committee.
Both programs are supported by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, who supply all plants and trees, and the Municipality of Tswelopele.