The entrance to the Kloofendal Nature Reserve

RELATED LINKS: City Parks focuses on Kloofendal REEDBUCK and duikers roam wild in the heart of the City at Kloofendal Nature Reserve in Roodepoort, making it a valuable educational centre for city children. Read more Preserving a wild corner of the west IN a pristine corner of Joburg's western suburbs lies dense bush, a sanctuary for numerous species of birds, plants and small animals, harking back to the days when the veld fringed the city's borders. Read more Joburg's nature reserves now have game JOHANNESBURG'S four nature reserves will soon all contain game. Rietfontein already has game, while Klipriviersberg was stocked with game in September, and two more will have wildlife within six months. Read more

Kloofendal Nature Reserve is being upgraded to improve facilities and the environment (Photo: City Parks)

Kloofendal is given a facelift As part of City Parks's aim to transform all Joburg's green lungs into safe leisure areas, work is continuing on upgrades at Kloofendal Nature Reserve. May 2, 2006 By Emmanuel Mulaudzi KLOOFENDAL Nature Reserve is being upgraded to improve facilities and the environment for local people and visitors. Work on the reserve began in September 2005. It is part of City Parks's aim to transform all Joburg's parks into safe areas. The reserve is located on Galena Road in Roodepoort, and is about 150 hectares in size. People visit the area for its bird life, butterflies, spiders, spring wild flowers and nocturnal small mammals. The upgrade is to comprise of a multi-purpose environmental education facility that will include an information centre, conference areas and staff offices. It will also get its own main entrance – up until now the reserve has shared an entrance with a neighbouring recreational centre. Parking for visitors and toilets will be built. Sydney Nkosi, the City Parks conservation manager, says that the development and upgrading of the reserve will enable his department to implement education programmes aimed at teaching school children environmental awareness. As part of the upgrade a support infrastructure comprised of a parking lot and offices will be located within the active built-up-zone. The reserve is divided into two zones – a passive, less built-up recreation zone for hiking trails, bird watching and game viewing activities, and an active zone, where the upgrades are taking place. This zone will have a braai area, an office block, a multi-purpose eco-facility, a parking lot and ablution facilities. Once the work is finished, City Parks will employ permanent staff to take care of the day-to-day management of the reserve and to help with visitors' reception. According to Tshivhangwaho Mudau, an environmental practitioner at Tswelopele Environmental, the upgrading of the Kloofendal Nature Reserve comes after it was determined that the reserve would make a good entertainment area and that there would be no environmental hazards relating to the changes. Tswelopele Environmental was asked by City Parks to conduct an environmental impact assessment in the park. Other developments in the reserve include the erection of by-law signage such as no smoking signs. Although the work includes several developments, one of City Parks's main aims is improving visitors' access. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za