New trees will make the park more of a green lung

A mosaic that will go up in the park by Friday

RELATED LINKS: City Parks plans extreme park make-over IN just 24 hours, City Parks aims to transform an open space into a lush green oasis with plenty of space for children to play. And it is just the first of what is hoped will be an annual event. Read more City kicks off environmental week THE Klipspruit - Klip River rehabilitation project was launched on World Environment Day, marking the start of the City's week-long environmental awareness programme. Read more Environment summit honours community forums COMMUNITY-BASED environmental forums received awards and prize money from the City's department of environment as part of activities to mark World Environment Week. Read more World Environment Day looks at climate change AN environmental awareness campaign looks at global warming and the effects of climate change. It includes a youth summit, spot testing of vehicle emissions and an extreme park make-over. Read more Youth summit to focus on climate change THE City aims to bring youngsters on board in its efforts to fight climate change and global warming. It is holding a summit and a series of workshops targeting different youth groups. Read more Turning the golden city green A NEW community gardening project aims to bring nature back to various areas of Johannesburg, and help people in less advantaged areas support themselves. Read more

City Parks workers put up benches to make the park a space for relaxation

City Parks employees work frantically to prepare the ground for the planting of lawn

Park make-over steaming ahead With only a few hours left, City Parks's extreme park make-over is on schedule. Workers ignored the cold and worked through the night to meet the 6pm deadline. June 8, 2007 By Ndaba Dlamini JUST 15 hours after Johannesburg City Parks began its record-breaking feat to create a park from a bare tract of land in 24 hours, the project is taking shape; and it is well on schedule. At 9am on Friday, 8 June, the 1,22ha park at the corner of Nic Diedrichs Boulevard and Florin Road in Wilgeheuwel, Roodepoort, is a far cry from the barren space that characterised the area when work started at 6pm the previous day. The aim is to turn the wasteland into a green lung. Jenny Moodley, City Parks's marketing and media manager, says its staff worked through the freezing night to meet today's 6pm deadline. "The team spirit is very high and the vibe is tremendous. Residents have been showing a keen interest in what is going on, with some of them coming in to participate in the development of the park." The revamped park will boast newly paved pathways Already a water feature has been completed and park benches have been installed. Workers are concentrating on landscaping and putting in play equipment, according to Moodley. City Parks came up with the extreme park make-over concept, and this is the first in what is hoped will be an annual event. It is part of City celebrations to mark World Environment Week. Moodley says the objective is to create hype and excitement about developing green spaces. "This is an effort to garner private sector support for the development of green open spaces and to create a marketing opportunity and raise awareness about greening." The member of the mayoral committee for environment, Prema Naidoo, will officially open the park by unveiling a plaque and switching on the lights at 6pm on Friday, she adds. At the end of the day, the park will have a new water feature "Residents have pledged to nurture the park and protect it from vandalism. We hope to make this an annual event, with sponsorship from business." 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