Few residents clean up a park with a smile!

On November 7, the Western Extension Village Project and community partners hosted a clean-up of illegal dumping and pedestrian litter in the Fountain Park area in Prince’s Avenue.

The idea was pioneered by local residents Poulli de Roland-Phillips and Ivonne Taylor, Western Extension business owners.

This park is located at the western entrance of Benoni Central and within the suburb of the Western Extension.
The group was joined by representatives from other volunteer groups, namely the Litter Bug (led by Samantha Choles), CreationCare from the Northfield Methodist Church (led by Lisa Johnstone) and Korsman Conservancy (led by Jane Trembath).

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“We were most pleased to have our ward councillor Sinethemba Matiwane roll up his sleeves too,” said de Poulli,

“but I was saddened by the fact that only one resident from The Fountains townhouse complex – which overlooks the park – participated.”

Despite the small turnout, the groups collected an inordinate amount of litter between 8am and 11am.

“We would like to make a special mention to CeeCee’s Recycling and Ken Harrison Plumbers and Blunden Plumbing, who also mucked in and then took the recycling and refuse away,” said Choles.

The local CPF was on hand to keep a watchful eye as well.

“Picking up somebody else’s trash is a great leveler; it keeps me humble and makes me appreciate what I have.

“It is also super easy, and everybody can do it, there is no right or wrong way, you just get stuck in,” said Lisa of CreationCare.

“This park was one of the dirtiest parks that the CreationCare group has been to so far. Not only was it dirty but it was also full of dangerous items like used syringes, pieces of wire and broken mirrors. One of the volunteers warned my child from sitting on the grass because of the amount of discarded needles that were scattered around.

“The Fountains Park has been a sorry sight for all nearby residents and for visitors to Benoni.

“Vagrants gather in the park to sleep during the day and night, and during this time they litter and defecate.

“This creates a disturbing health hazard,” said Poulli.

She added that prostitutes operate without disturbance from this park too.

Despite ample refuse bins, pedestrians and users of the park or nearby residents dump their refuse bags in the park and this results in a mountain of debris and litter that has been accumulating for months – if not years.

“A once beautiful park has become an ugly dumpsite,” observed a resident.

The Fountains Park now looks gloriously clean and green, but the maintenance of its cleanliness is going to be a continuous challenge because of the factors mentioned.

The Western Extension Village Project has, however, emailed requests to the Ekurhuleni Waste Management

Department for more regular maintenance, now that a clean-up (by Benoni residents) has been completed.

The Western Extension Village Project, which was formed to keep the suburb clean and beautiful, would like to encourage the residents of Western Extension to participate in future endeavors and to contribute their time to improve the suburb and Benoni in general.

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“We also want to appeal to residents to make use of bins provided in parks and respect these communal areas,” said Samantha.

Ivonne and Poulli expressed their gratitude to all who attended, and they hope for more willing participants who believe in this movement.

Lisa concluded the environment and the care thereof is a core part of being a Christian.

“As we are called to become custodians of nature, it starts with us, we need to become aware of what opportunities are available to take action and the big park clean-up was one such event.

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” said Johnstone.

For more information about the Western Extension Village Project, contact Bronwyn Pretorius on 076 984 5025 or Ivonne on 083 284 4777.