‘Mother of the park’ speaks about her journey to keep Noordwyk Park kempt

Lynne Maclean has lived near Noordwyk Park for the last 32 years. She describes herself a passionate person, who gives her all to everything she does, from cleaning the park every Friday morning, to being a weekly volunteer at the Noordwyk parkrun, and a vital part of the fun at Run Walk for Life Midrand.

Maclean is loved by many and is fondly called the ‘Mother of the Park’. “I joined Run Walk for Life Midrand in July 2023. Shortly after that, I registered with Noordwyk parkrun as a participant. I used to feel embarrassed seeing all the litter in the park, knowing that so many people came to the park to do the parkrun. In a way, I felt house-proud of the park that I neighboured for all these years.”

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So, quietly, with no announcement and no social media posts, she started cleaning the park, unbeknownst to anyone except her husband Ian, who sadly passed away in April 2024.

In her time of grieving, Maclean started going to the park early on a Saturday morning, before anyone else arrived. She still wanted to clean the park, but wanted to make sure that nobody saw her, as she was not in a space to see people yet. “I would return home having cleaned for the participants of the parkrun, once again saying nothing to anyone. After a month or two I returned to cleaning the park on a Friday.”

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No, coming to terms with her loss, Maclean is back to cleaning the park on Friday morning, back to her duties at parkrun and Run Walk for Life, and making life better for everyone that uses Noordwyk Park, part of her ‘house’ that she cherishes so much.

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