Pieter Nortje writes:
It is really sad to observe that our city`s sport facilities (rugby, tennis, soccer, cricket and hockey) is being allowed to be vandalized to non-existence and has become illegal drug nests for the youth.
However with the approval of the City Council, the co-operation and support of the Corporate Coal Industries in and around eMalahleni and the initiative of a growing band of city slickers whose mission it is to start an inner city organic herb and vegetable farm, I am convinced that we will not only restore our sport facilities, but we can transform the sport grounds around our sport fields into sustainable food edens.
Urban farming is just beginning to gain traction in South Africa and I am sure that with a well-considered plan we can reconnect the sport community and the rest of the citizens of eMalahleni to this neglected piece of heritage, through designing and developing sustainable vegetable gardens and to educate residents and their children about food gardening, environmental and related issues, to beautify public space and to champion unused or vandalized green spaces in our city.
