A Bedfordview-based volunteer clean-up campaign aims to breathe new life into dreary looking roadside verges. The initiative employs temporary workers who would otherwise have begged at intersections.
It’s not hard to miss the volunteers either, armed with gardening equipment and hand-written signs they clear away weeds and sprucing up sidewalks and verges along some of the busiest roads in the area.
But this is not a new initiative. It started a little over four years ago when Morninghill resident Christine Heeb noticed a large number of blackjack plants growing along many of the area’s roads.
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One day shortly after, she and her gardener started working at the intersection of Boeing Road West and Batten Street, outside Morninghill.
“The whole fence line was overgrown with blackjacks,” Christine told the NEWS. The clearing started to become a weekly initiative. Before long, and with a substantial area cleared, Christine started taking pieces of succulents from her own garden and replanting them along the road.
With every passing week, the area cleared became bigger. Needless to say, when the pandemic hit Christine could not continue with her clearing mission. Under level four and with newfound freedom, Christine once again set out to beautify her verges.
That’s when she met Jerry, a man who would turn her little project into something more meaningful. He had been begging at the same intersection where Christine had started clearing year’s earlier.
“Due to Covid-19 I needed a little extra help. I normally start clearing the blackjacks in March or April. Jerry helped me for five days a week,” Christine said.
The duo would spend the day cleaning, after which Christine would pay Jerry.
To create awareness of the project and to enhance safety, the two created handmade signs warning passing motorists that cleaning was taking place. Soon, Jerry started receiving donations from the community and would also receive groceries, lunch and clothes.
According to Christine, one day Jerry left and never returned. She believes he returned to Zimbabwe. She then found Abel Chipeta and again the volunteer project gained momentum.
“The community supports the volunteers and we clean up the high-traffic areas that no one wants to take ownership of. Because no one will do it, we will do it,” she said.
“When I plant new plants, they are always sustainable. I use spekboom, aloes and firesticks, among others. Firesticks are sort of my trademark.”
With his distinctive, hand-written volunteer sign, Abel has helped clean verges in Bedfordview for around four weeks. Originally from Malawi and affected by the pandemic, Abel took up the challenge to beautify Bedfordview. “I like to work with the community. They support what we do here and it’s great to see that I’m making a difference,” he told the NEWS.
