A successful Botanical Gardens top dam cleanup
The community came together over three weekends to clear the dam of weeds.
Fifty community members participated in a clean-up of the top dam area in the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens top dam,
The initiative spanned three Saturdays, and organisers Sam Horwitz, Melissa Thorne and Saki Butler said it showed them how keen the community was to contribute to positive change.
Read more: Residents are getting to work to cleanup the Johannesburg Botanitcal Gardens top dam over February
They added the volunteers could see the difference they were making, and it was an easy way to make friends.”
As they see it, weeding is a great leveller, as it sees volunteers working towards a common goal. In the end, eight truckloads of weeds were taken away.
Also read: Emmarentia upper dam project stand still
The volunteers included dogwalkers, St Teresa’s School learners completing their community service, and members of community-based organisations.
“If more people were able to help, we could develop a programme that allows for the consistent removal of the weeds over time. Ultimately, we would be able to curb their invasion massively and allow for indigenous plants to take their place,” said the organisers.
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