‘Where have all the trees gone?’
Some Sandringham residents were left confused last week after trees planted at the local Jock Whyte Park disappeared overnight.
According to a home owner who lives on Henry Avenue,officials from the Joburg City Parks and Zoo planted the trees along the fence as well as in the middle of the park on 10 July.
She told the North Eastern Tribune that when officials were finished planting the trees, she and her husband remarked that it looked like the municipality was planning on creating a small man-made forest.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said they were shocked when they woke up the next morning, to see that the trees in the middle had been taken out.
“We thought maybe the officials wanted to re-plant them as it did not make sense to have so many trees, even in the middle of the park as some youngsters use the park to play soccer on a daily basis,” said the resident.
She added that they were even more shocked when they woke up on 12 July to find that even the trees along the fence of the park had been taken out.
She said, “This made us wonder whether the trees had been stolen or if it was indeed the officials who removed them.”
The resident said there were holes left after the trees were taken out. “And these pose a danger to the children playing in the park, as well as the boys who come here to play soccer on the afternoons. I somewhat think that if the municipality was responsible for the removal of the trees, they would have closed the holes, leaving everything as they found it,” she said.
She added that her husband also stopped and asked one of the officials about the trees. She said, “We were shocked when he said he did not know what happened to the trees.”
In response to the newspaper’s questions, the entity’s regional manager, Jerome Ogle, said, “The trees that were planted in the middle of the park were removed and replanted.”
In another email message, Ogle said the trees were removed to accommodate the women who play soccer in the park.
Upon the newspaper’s arrival at the park, there were no newly-planted trees visible, just open holes.At the time of going to press, it remained unclear as to whether the rest of the trees were also removed by officials.
The entity had not replied to questions regarding the amount of money spent in the planting and the subsequent removal of the trees.
