Community Cleaners transform Fairland parks
A park can serve as a space for kids to play, families to get together, and neighbors to bond for inhabitants of complexes without gardens.
A park can be more than a patch of grass.
For residents living in complexes without gardens, it can be a place for children to play, families to gather and neighbours to connect.
Read more: Community takes action to clean up illegal dumping in Sophiatown
On September 12, Community Cleaners volunteers were back in action at King and Wilson Park and Union Jack Park, clearing litter from the spruits and maintaining shared green spaces across Fairland, Berario and Northcliff.
At Union Jack Park, community action has already made a visible difference. Residents raised about R70 000 to install a gum-pole fence around the 35 000m² park, preventing vehicles from driving through the green space.
Also read: Lets clean up Alberts Farm
The project used about 420 poles and was completed over three weeks, with one resident donating 200 poles. With vehicles kept out, residents are using the park more freely, while further improvements are already planned, including donated play equipment.
Community Cleaners relies on donations and volunteers to keep local parks maintained, with the group also working towards fencing the Fairland Koppie and restoring neglected jungle gyms.
For member André Swanepoel, the work is ultimately about community ownership. In neighbourhoods where many residents have little private outdoor space, he said: “This is really their garden.”
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