May 24, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
LIKE a scene from a fairy tale, an open space in Roodepoort will be turned into a charming green lung overnight when Johannesburg City Parks launches its extreme make-over park in Wilgeheuwel, Roodepoort.
The idea is similar to the well-known M-Net series Extreme Make-over Home. The open space at the corner of Nic Diederichs Boulevard and Florin Road will be refurbished in 24 hours, starting at 6pm on Thursday, 7 June. The extreme make-over concept, the first of its kind to be hatched by City Parks, is part of City celebrations to mark World Environment Week.
Established by the United Nations (UN) in 1972, World Environment Week is held each year during the week of 5 June, World Environment Day. The topic for the day this year is Melting Ice - A Hot Topic?, with the focus on climate change and its effects on ice- and snow-covered areas of the world.
The week is one of the principal ways the UN stimulates environmental awareness and enhances political attention and public action. The main purpose of the week is to encourage people to live sustainably and equitably, to promote awareness and understanding that communities play a central role in changing attitudes towards environmental issues and to develop partnerships that will ensure that nations enjoy a better quality of life.
An artist's impression of Wilgeheuwel Park
Marketing and media manager at City Parks, Jenny Moodley, says the objective of the extreme make-over park is to create hype and excitement about developing green open spaces in the city. "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."
City Parks carried out a pre-selection process to find the open space that would be used to pilot the project and the City's GIS, or geoinformatics system, was used to view undeveloped or semi-developed open spaces in the northern suburbs.
"The event will begin at 6pm on 7 June and [end] at 6pm the following day. Non-intensive activities will continue overnight and intensive works start from 6am on Friday morning. City Parks is currently seeking support from the adjacent households and the nearby shopping complex," Moodley says.
As part of the make-over, the open space will be transformed into a 1,22ha floodlit paradise, complete with picnic and braai areas strategically placed around berms and boulders. A kids' play area in the middle of the park and an open lawn with mini goal posts on the northern side will provide ample space for children to play.
On Friday, 8 June, a switch-on will officially open the park, and Executive Mayor Amos Masondo is expected to officiate. "It is the intention of City Parks that the event will become an annual occurrence, with sponsorship from business," Moodley says.
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