January 21, 2004
By Lucille Davie
THE Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort is to be renamed the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden.
In a ceremony on 16 March to which President Thabo Mbeki is to be invited, and hosted by the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the name is to be officially changed.
Sharon Turner, curator of the garden, welcomes the move. "It is a positive move, and we hope it will bring a lot of positive opportunities, like more recognition and more marketing."
The new name was suggested several years ago, as part of the garden's "branding and marketing strategy", and approved by the board of the National Botanical Institute (NBI), who then submitted the proposal to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa.
The focus of the ceremony will be to honour the legacy of Walter Sisulu, a stalwart of the liberation movement, an inspiration to many and friend to Nelson Mandela for 62 years. Sisulu died at the age of 90 in May 2003 and is buried at the Newclare Cemetery, where a memorial garden has been established in his honour.
Also part of the ceremony will be to profile the garden, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of democracy in South Africa.
"The NBI is pleased to be able to honour one of South Africa's greatest leaders in such a singular way. It is hoped that all those who have supported the Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden in the past will continue to share their truly great garden with an ever-widening circle of friends, and in celebrating the life and contribution to South Africa of a leader of great vision, courage and humility, Walter Sisulu," states the garden's newsletter.
The garden, some 30 kilometres west of the city centre, in Roodepoort, is one of a network of eight botanical gardens around the country. It consists of around 300 hectares of landscaped and natural veld areas, planted with only indigenous trees, 600 species of indigenous flowering plants and shrubs. Over 230 species of birds have been recorded in the garden as well as a number of reptiles and small mammals.
The garden is currently undergoing renovations. A concert stage is being built, expected to be complete in May; the present restaurant is being expanded; the shop is being converted into a visitors' centre; and the entrance expanded to cater for increased numbers to the garden.
The garden has an active musical programme, as well as talks and walks throughout the year.
The garden has a pair of breeding Black Eagles, their nest perched on the cliff above the Witpoortjie Falls in the garden. Last year's chick left the nest in November, and the pair will be breeding again in March.
Several of the country's other gardens have had minor name changes - the Karoo to the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden, and the Orange Free State to Free State National Botanical Garden, when that province changed its name in the mid-1990s.
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