Conservancy continues to beautify Westville
The organisation regularly cleans up a 10km stretch of road through Westville, removing hundreds of bags of trash.
IN a move to help clean and beautify the area, the Westville Conservancy’s dedicated M13 maintenance team picked up 87 black bags of litter and eight sacks of glass and cans, in two days, along a 500m stretch.
“During the winter months, when plant growth slows down, in addition to removing the invasive alien plants, our M13 maintenance team also clears the road gutters and storm water drains and picks up litter along the full width of the road reserve and adjacent vacant land,” said the non-profit organisation’s Jean Senogles.
The amount of litter removed by the organisation along the full 10km section of the M13, from 45th Cutting to Paradise Valley, vastly outnumbers this and is regularly done by the Westville Conservancy.
ALSO READ: Krantzkloof Nature Reserve warns of massive fine, jail time for defacing heritage resources
“Road verges can form very important corridors for wildlife. If we allow grasses and other plants to flower, fruit and seed, this provides food for a host of insects, birds and rodents.
“We often want our verges to be mowed so they look neat, but this turns them into green deserts. Mowing or brush cutting along the metre or so of the verge is fine, but if we leave the banks to propagate and only cut once, they have completed their flowering and seeding cycles and we will be helping our biodiversity to thrive,” said Senogles.
The organisation’s mission includes invasive alien plant removal, litter clearing and the planting of indigenous flora along the M13 roadway, revitalising Westville by reclaiming neglected public spaces for indigenous planting, monitoring environmental issues in Westville, building up plant stock in its plant depot and growing rare, locally indigenous plants as well as assisting the community with gardening solutions.
To support the work of the organisation, make a donation to:
Bank: Nedbank
Account name: Westville Conservancy
Account Number: 1380 078 083
Branch code: 138026
Join in: Let’s Talk Rubbish hosts monthly clean-ups that focus on the Palmiet River catchment areas. Call Lee from the Palmiet River Watch on 083 461 5964 or email Businessunusuallee@gmail.com. The next clean-up is on Saturday, 26 September.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
