January 25, 2005
By Sheree Russouw
JOHANNESBURG'S leafy northern suburbs are losing some of their oldest residents - street trees - to the heavy rains that have battered large parts of the city since December.
Most of the calls received by Johannesburg City Parks, nearly 800, during December and January were from residents of the northern suburbs worried about fallen trees and snapped branches in their suburbs, says Mike Griffiths, a senior manager of street trees.
Johannesburg City Parks is the agency charged with maintaining and growing the city's parks and cemeteries.
"Although the whole of Johannesburg has had emergencies, it was predominantly the older areas with the older trees that have had emergency call-outs," says Griffiths.
And it is the black wattles, blue gums, oaks and elm trees that have been in suburbs such as Greenside, Emmarentia, Rosebank and Parkmore for years, that have been the "most problematic" and hard-hit by the heavy rains.
Since December, Johannesburg City Parks has dispatched its emergency teams to cut down trees damaged by the rains.
These teams have had to cut down many of the trees that have blocked roads, fallen on top of cars or that have had their branches snapped off in the pelting rains.
"To our knowledge no fallen trees have caused injuries or death," says Griffiths. "But we have received reports of damaged electrical fences and garden walls."
Fallen trees are cut up and removed, he adds. "Any tree that also poses a threat to the public is removed."
Complaints of damaged trees were also received from residents in Eldorado Park to the south of Johannesburg and Weltevreden Park and Helderkruin to the west.
But with over a million street trees, and close to two million in parks, cemeteries and conservation areas, Johannesburg is still the greenest and largest man-made forest in the world.
And it's going to get greener.
Historically, the city's wealthier northern suburbs have benefited from their expansive green blanket while townships have been left to the dust.
This year, says Griffiths, Johannesburg City Parks will continue greening the many treeless and dusty suburbs of Soweto, Lenasia and Eldorado Park, with indigenous trees. The parks agency planted nearly 4 000 trees last year.
"Trees will also be planted in other developing or new suburbs based on individual request," says Griffiths.
He adds that Johannesburg City Parks is "investigating" a new tree management system that will help it count and locate every tree that is rooted to city pavements, parks and open spaces.
City residents are urged to report street trees that have fallen over, are diseased, have dead branches, or are off-balance to Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.
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