Lesego Maja
lesegomaja@caxton.co.za
Logan Dashwood began cleaning up Darrenwood Park approximately five weeks ago, acting on an idea he had been developing for years.
“I had an idea of cleaning parks about two three years ago so I thought let me start with this one. Unfortunately, it always takes some time to get something rolling,” Dashwood said.
Dashwood has been working with three more people, removing litter, leaves and parts of trees that had fallen over. Musa Ncube, one of the people involved in the clean-up, was approached by Dashwood on the side of the road offering him a job at the park. He has since been working on the park on a full-time basis.
The park, which is currently still undergoing a clean-up, has yielded approximately 1 200 black plastic bags full of leaves and litter as well as bundles of wood.
Dashwood and Ncube also found broken tiles buried under the heaps of leaves and ground while cleaning, some of which are still buried beneath the ground.
Trying to get rid of the plastic bags has proved a challenge, since they are limited to dumping two loads per day at the dumping site. Another challenge, Dashwood said, is community members dropping some of their plastic bags by the park. “Since we have been cleaning up here, we have had some people coming and dropping things off here thinking City Parks is cleaning up,” he said. Some of the wood has been disappearing as people come and collect it for their fires, much to Dashwood’s relief.
Ncube said he is grateful to Dashwood for the opportunity of working at the park. “I’m happy to be working with Logan and doing this for the community. People already take walks around the park and children come and play here,” Ncube said.
Dashwood has been digging deep into his own pockets for this initiative and has also received sponsorship from Mike and Liz Harpieces, where he works.
Ncube and Dashwood welcome and appreciate all the assistance they can get, including donations of old benches for seating purposes. “We would like anyone who has some old benches to donate them, so parents can sit and watch their children when they play,” Dashwood added.
