Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) is responsible for the maintenance and management of 2 176 parks, 136 conservation areas, 38 cemeteries, three crematoria, Joburg Zoo, Johannesburg Botanical Garden and approximately 3.6 million street trees in the City of Johannesburg. Horticultural maintenance is one of the main services JCPZ offers within the City of Joburg. This maintenance service is rendered in parks, nature reserves, cemeteries, Johannesburg Botanical Garden, Joburg Zoo, landscaped islands and town entrances, and selected main arterials. Horticultural maintenance services include grass cutting, litter picking, weed control, flowerbed maintenance, beautification, hedge trimming, blowing of fallen leaves and raking of pathways. Maintenance is administrated to provide safe public open spaces which communities may use to improve their health and to enhance social cohesion.

Well-maintained public open spaces also provide the following benefits to City communities at large:

• Contributes to the improvement of air quality, biodiversity, tourism, promotes climate change mitigation and creates employment opportunities
• Improves environmental and economic resilience
• Builds social resilience, especially when developed and stewarded in a collaborative and community-driven approach
• By improving healthy lifestyles, a strong and growing city is built for present and future generations
• Public open spaces also have a positive impact on mental health and general well-being of human and animal life.

JCPZ provides services within the following service standard cycles:

Removal of emergency fallen trees activities includes dispatching of a trees team, removal of the green debris, loading and dumping. However, the process for addressing larger fallen trees slightly differs due to the size of the foliage and, as such, the initial response includes only the removal of the big stump to a safer zone i.e. to the side of the road. Thereafter, within three working days, the process includes the chipping of the tree base, loading and dumping at various clearance Pikitup sites. JCPZ compiles and publishes maintenance schedules weekly which provide details of the work that will be carried out regionally. The schedule is available on the JCPZ website at www.jhbcityparksandzoo.com. Fallen trees that obstruct traffic, pose a danger or interfere with electricity supply are attended to within two hours. The stumps etc. may take more time to remove but the obstacle is cleared. Fallen trees within parks and open spaces that pose no threat, remains and forms part of the planned schedules. Currently, JCPZ is responsible for most green surfaces within its mandate and within the greater City of Joburg, other City departments, entities and organisations are responsible for certain portions of the work. Progressive decisions are in progress to ensure the entire City of Joburg’s green portfolio becomes the mandate of JCPZ with an adequate budget. This process is currently underway with the midterm budget reviews. The same goes for national and provincial departments and other state-owned entities. The below table reflects the relevant parties that can be contacted for services that do not form part of JCPZ’s portfolio: 

For services to be provided in a sustainable manner, JCPZ urges communities to work together to keep the City of Joburg clean. As such, JCPZ hereby calls upon communities to play their part by cutting and maintaining lawns on their sidewalks and maintaining grass verges adjacent to their homes.   Let us work together to keep our city clean and green!