Residents and businesses have rolled up their sleeves to give Douglasdale’s public spaces a fresh look, with about 40 volunteers participating in a community clean-up.

The Douglasdale Spring Clean focused on the verges and gardens at the intersections of Leslie Avenue West and Westway Road, as well as Douglas Drive, Galloway Road and Crawford Drive.

Organiser and Douglasdale Business and Residents Forum (DBRF) chairperson Susan Mottram said volunteers spent the day weeding, cutting grass, pruning, planting, adding compost, raking and collecting litter.

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The team also removed bagged garden waste, litter and plant debris, including old aloe trunks that had lain on Leslie Avenue West, opposite Foxwood Hill complex, for about two years.

Mottram said the results demonstrated what residents could achieve when they worked together to improve their neighbourhood.

“It was rewarding and fun to work side-by-side with like-minded fellow community members who are desperate to prevent Douglasdale from becoming a dump and are doing something about it themselves with their own hands, giving of their personal time and funds,” she said.

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She thanked co-organisers Saskia Kunneke, who represents Greenpark, and Byron Ivan Dawson, a Douglasdale resident, as well as long-time community partner Ruth Fleming, for their involvement.

In a move aimed at keeping the improvements in place, Douglasdale Retirement Village has committed to maintaining the intersection of Douglas Drive, Galloway Road and Crawford Drive every week.

The village participated in the clean-up through members of its gardening club and a contracted garden service, led by resident Colin de Villiers.

“We will provide the services of a gardener once a week to maintain the area. We challenge our neighbours to come forward and support this community project,” De Villiers said.

Mottram said the initiative also received corporate support from Night Guard Security, its sister company Trinity Group, TRSS and Whole Earth Organic Farm.

Whole Earth Organic Farm supplied and laid compost valued at R3 000 to help revitalise the gardens.

The clean-up builds on years of community-led efforts to maintain public spaces in the area.

Mottram said eight founding supporters had worked to keep key areas of Douglasdale clean and attractive for 18 years, beginning with the planting of gardens at the Douglas Drive and Leslie Avenue intersection in 2008.

The DBRF was established in 2015 and subsequently took over maintenance of the Douglas Drive and Leslie Avenue gardens. In 2024, additional barrier gardens were planted at Westway Road and Leslie Avenue with support from Kunneke, Greenpark residents and other community members.

Mottram said the latest clean-up reflected the group’s ongoing commitment to improving shared spaces through residents’ time, contributions and involvement.

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