January 9, 2023

Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has decided to make a donation equivalent to the plantation of 300 trees for the “Hockey Forest” project.

The project consists in building a “hockey forest” in South Africa as a measure to offset the carbon footprint that is created by the demands of the sport’s growing schedule. It was started in 2019 by the German women’s hockey team, the Danas, who partnered with the Grootbos Foundation in South Africa, set up a crowdfunding page and planted the first trees themselves in 2020 during a training camp in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Since then, they’ve kept collecting funds for different events such as a Christmas tree campaign and an offset for their travels during the last FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup. In total, they’ve planted more than 1,000 trees!

When FIH launched its “Sustainability Strategy for Hockey” on 4 November 2022, it showcased the “Hockey Forest” as one of the case studies of recent and current initiatives of the hockey community to promote sustainability.

“When it comes to sustainable development, we all have a role to play. Sport, in particular, has a great potential to act as a catalyst for positive change in society. I’d like to congratulate the Danas and the Grootbos Foundation for their great campaign to promote sustainability and raise awareness for the climate crisis. I’m really glad that FIH will support this wonderful initiative”, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said.

FIH urges everyone to donate for the “Hockey Forest” using the following link: https://grootbosfoundation.org/donate.