🌱 Our First Six Trees in Hoekwil: A Small Start With a Big Heart

When we started ZUK, we knew we wanted to plant trees.

Not later.

Not “one day.”

From day one.

So when the opportunity came to plant our very first six trees at the Hoekwil 7 Passes Initiative School, we said yes immediately — even though we had no idea what the day would actually look like.

Spoiler: it involved 45 little kids, a lot of digging, a bit of chaos, and way more laughter than expected.

🌿 Why This School?

Hoekwil has a way of feeling like home even when you’re new.

The 7 Passes Initiative School looks after children aged 3 to 6 kids who still see the world with those big, curious eyes we all wish we’d kept.

And that’s exactly why we wanted to start here.

If you want to teach people to care about nature, start with the ones who still think every stick is a sword and every leaf is “magic.”

With help from Jason, a community legend and our unofficial “tree planting supervisor,” we got straight to work.

🌳 Kids + Soil = Zero Predictability

Trying to explain a tree-planting process to 3–6 year olds?

Let’s just say… they hear:

“Here’s some mud. Go wild.”

They were spontaneous, excited, asking questions faster than we could answer them.

Hands in the soil, water everywhere, tiny shoes disappearing into soft ground and honestly, it was perfect.

Exactly the kind of memory we want kids to associate with nature:

fun, messy, free, unfiltered, real.

Not a lecture.

Just a moment they’ll remember someday when they see a tree and think,

“I planted one of those.”

🌍 A Small Start That Felt Bigger Than We Expected

We didn’t go into Hoekwil searching for some life-changing moment.

We simply wanted to plant trees and do something good.

But standing there watching these little ones take it so seriously — and also not seriously at all it hit us quietly:

This is worth doing again.

Not in a big dramatic way.

Just… step by step.

One school.

One group of kids.

One tree at a time.

A small start, but a good one.

💛 What This Means for ZUK

We’re not trying to save the world in one day.

We’re not trying to be heroes.

We’re just trying to do our part — slowly, consistently, and with heart.

Tree planting will always be part of ZUK.

Hoekwil was simply our first chapter, and it reminded us exactly why we made this part of our brand in the first place.

Good people.

Good moments.

Good memories.

And a small bit of hope planted in the soil.

🌱 Join the Journey

Every Sunny String we sell helps us plant more trees — nothing complicated, nothing fancy, just simple good work with real impact.

If you want to be part of it, follow along, share the story, or grab a Sunny String and help us plant the next tree.

ZUK Handcrafted — a small brand with a growing mission.