Staff Spotlight: Misha Teasdale

I studied Industrial Design completing my B-Tech in sustainability-focused design. Following this, I completed a trans-continental expedition from Cape Town to London, profiling over 60 organizations and NGOs with a group of six friends.

In 2010, I started Greenpop, an award-winning social enterprise that has planted over 80,000 trees in Southern Africa. I focus on being a creative catalyst, pushing the objective to create environmental and social mass action through growing Greenpop's core focus of (re)connecting humans with nature.

My wife and I often travel in South Africa. It's so rich in diversity and experience. I suppose I don't have one stand out memory around travel in SA. There really is so much on offer right here in our back garden.

Recently we went to the West Coast (of South Africa) to get the beginnings of the flower season. I love how rugged and stark it is out there. You get a real sense of calm spending time in this Mediterranean climate. With its cool Atlantic beaches, and dry countryside and the newly developed wind farms that juxtapose the horizon.

Alternatively, you may find us on the East Coast. Hogsback Terra Khaya eco backpackers is a firm favorite - where you’ll find me happily getting lost in the mountains on my bicycle, or watching the mist roll in from the comfort of a hammock.

Since we started Greenpop I have had the opportunity to hone in on my ability and freedom to become a creative catalyst. I have a great team, who are on board with making a shared vision a reality.

It's an incredible thing to be able to manifest things, connect with your colleagues and go through a process of creativity, design thinking, discussion and through this work out how we can make something meaningful happen with the resources we have.

We have some massive challenges in our path globally, but regardless, we make the most of the tools we have and opportunities we are afforded to make ideas into a reality.

Over the last 7 years we have had many international students join us from far reaches of the globe. It has been exciting to form relationships, teach and learn from all the unique individuals that join our ranks.

One reoccurring story that we hear from students that spend time with our projects at Greenpop is that the immersion experience and level of responsibility they receive gives them real hope for the future, as well as a foundation to feel like they can really become active change-makers in the process of creating their own change wherever they are from.

I'm a big believer in experiential learning. From all the jobs and volunteering I have done in my life, honestly, the opportunity to have a real-time deep immersion into a project by getting one's hands dirty and deal with the tough/dirty work as well as the technical/administrative work can really be the game changer.

One of our key focuses at Greenpop is using sustainability events as a medium to activate change. I believe that If I had the opportunity to come and join a program at Greenpop it would be to join the ranks of the event team. This is especially relevant when we have one of our major projects of the year like our annual Reforest Fest.

As a team, we need to create a safe, functional, and fun setup to facilitate 1,000 people to plant in the region of 8,000 trees. Going through this process with all the learnings, challenges and friendship formed can really give one a sense of achievement once we have reached our goal.

Greenpop plants Indigenous trees where they are needed most: schools, orphanages, crèches and community centers. We plant with volunteers, community members, and companies. We have various educational platforms and workshops that we facilitate as well. Why are we unique? Because we are all about getting active, not anxious about the state of the world today. We do this by rallying up volunteers and our broader community to make it happen.

We have several events that happen annually which include our Reforest Fest, where we have a goal of regenerating an alien-infested, previously forested, landscape through mass volunteer participation. Every year, we have volunteers that join us in March for a weekend of camping, planting, wholesome food, workshops, and entertainment. We have planted in the region of 50,000 trees here to date.

We also run a project in Zambia during June and July every year, where participants from around the world join us for our Festival of Action. This project integrates local and international volunteers that get hands-on practical sustainability experience.

I'm particularly proud to be part of a team that can activate things with such incredible energy and achieve so much. Our events and programs are true inspirations and have a core focus on making change, and living that change, a reality.

Success for me is the ability to have purpose in our work. Be respected for the work we do. And to operate efficiently in a way that does not negatively affect the environment.

An additional focus for a successful social enterprise would be resourcefulness. I'd say things can come in many forms. How far can you stretch yourself, how frugal can you be with your own finances to keep the business reinvested? The ability to be a canvas for support in all the principles of making business function. There are so many short term and long term needs that must be addressed in order to get the wheels turning. If you cant make them work, then someone has to or the business will grow in all the wrong places.