Community members tackle alien plants at Bryanston park
Non-profit organisation partners with dog walkers and residents to clean up a neglected local nature space.
The Better Bryanston team carried out a clean-up operation at Krom Park on Tuesday morning after residents raised concerns about the deteriorating condition of the popular dog-walking area.
A team from the non-profit organisation cleared dense, overgrown vegetation, including invasive bug weed, and collected litter across the park.
Better Bryanston chairperson Joyce Tshabalala said the organisation had surveyed the area the previous week after they were approached by residents who were concerned about the state of the park.
“This park is known as a dog walking park. Dog lovers are mostly found here with their four-legged friends, but unfortunately, it has become an eyesore. The grass is now overgrown, and there are people littering in the park,” Tshabalala said.
Read more: Better Bryanston volunteers clean up
“We are grateful to the residents who partnered with us to clean up this space,” Tshabalala said. “Today we are here to remove a lot of the bug weed, which is an invasive plant that we will cut down and spray on the hillside so that it doesn’t grow back again, while also collecting the litter.”
She added that the operation was an example of how Better Bryanston works with residents to address problem areas in the community.
“If there is an area that is bothersome to you, let us know. We will tell you how much funding is required to clean up the area and make it look better than what it is. We look forward to more of these kinds of collaborations.”
Ward 102 environmentalist Pauline Dickson, who is also a resident, said the area is a natural wetland requiring proper maintenance.
“This is Krom Wetland,” Dickson said. “It is a natural wetland, and it’s been classified as a wetland park by City Parks.”
Dickson explained that while City Parks carries out some cutting in the area, sections such as those being tackled by Better Bryanston have remained problematic.
Also read: Clean up at Bryanston’s greenbelt
“After many years of trying to get the alien growth removed, we’ve now engaged with Better Bryanston because we decided that we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” Dickson said. “We need this thoroughfare to be cleaned regularly.”
“We are really putting a lot of effort into trying to try and get it into a state where it can be a useful wetland, and for it to do what it does naturally, and that is to take the flow of water right the way through,” she said.
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