August 23, 2004
By Lucille Davie
A COMMUNITY project called 'The flowering of Johannesburg' hopes to distribute flowers and vegetables from the abundant northern suburbs to the more sparse southern suburbs.
The initiative of Lucy Taylor, the chairperson of the Zoo Lake Users' Committee, the project aims to beautify suburbs and also encourage children to become more aware of nature and the constructive role they can play in it.
Says Taylor: "Many avid gardeners in the city and suburbs of Johannesburg have an excess of extra plants or 'slips' that they can easily afford to give away, as gardeners love to do."
The idea is that gardeners will deliver extra plants, slips, seeds and seedlings to the Horticultural Training Centre at Zoo Lake. Various garden clubs in the northern suburbs will twin with squatter communities like Orange Farm, and take the plants to schools and women's groups, and together they will develop gardens.
The garden club members will have an ongoing relationship with their twin communities, dispensing advice on the care of the plants and tackling any challenges that may arise.
Taylor hopes that vegetable seedlings will be delivered to the centre, to be planted for Aids orphans in particular.
Staff at the centre in Zoo Lake will care for the plants until they are collected by the garden clubs.
In the meantime, a derelict storeroom above the children's playground at Zoo Lake is to be turned into the Parkview satellite police station, and renovated to house several Chubb security and police officers. Taylor says that Chubb have donated R200 000 to make Zoo Lake, one of the city's flagship parks, more secure.
"Shift changes will take place from the building and Chubb reaction officers will be on site from 4.30am until 9pm each day, including weekends. The building will serve as a base for three to four patrol vehicles and our reaction officers will also patrol the grounds of Zoo Lake," says Neville Rothfusz, regional director of Chubb Electronic Security.
At present City Parks funds two security guards who patrol the lake from 7.30am until 4pm each week day, with no security on the weekends. Now there'll be almost 24-hour security at the lake.
"An additional benefit of Chubb's presence within the revamped building is that it faces on to the children's play area, further enhancing peace of mind for the community who frequent Zoo Lake," says Taylor, who is delighted with the Chubb donation.
Taylor says that although Chubb's donation is generous, a further R300 000 is needed to fully implement the plan.
Plant and seedling donations can be made to Ben or Ruby at the Horticultural Training Centre between 7am and 3.45pm. Phone for details on 011 646 3848. Phone Lucy Taylor on 011 726 2784 to make donations for the satellite police station and Chubb security project.
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