Children dream of revamped park

PUPILS at Glenmore Primary School are full of ideas on how to revamp the park opposite their school.

Heather Miller, a teacher from Glenmore Primary who heads up the recycling and litter campaign at the school said a core group of 15 to 20 pupils have been working with her to clean up the park, and are hoping to meet with the ward councillor to share their ideas.

“We first realised the condition of the park when we did out big walk through the park recently. We noticed there were many issues of concern at the park, including littering and the lack of bins. We have started picking up litter every week, and the learners are passionate about trying to keep our area clean, but it is an on-going battle as the next day, there is more litter!” she said.

Miller said there was one small lightpole bin on the road, and only one dustbin at the top end of the park, which she said always smelt.

“There is the weekly problem on garbage collection days when bags are opened and the contents are strewn all over the verge. This is not picked up by the garbage collectors. Furniture is also dumped outside on the pavement and lies there for weeks. It is a health risk, as well as a litter problem. Many Eco Warriors have seen dogs, cats and hadedas foraging among the rubbish too. We felt there should be something we as a community can do about it,” said Miller.

She said pupils had come up with some great ideas, and suggested a bigger bin should be placed near the parking area and throughout the park, as well as recycling bins to collect paper and glass.

“We want to put signs up next to the bins that say things like ‘Thank you for putting your rubish in the bin’ When we cleaned up the park recently, we noticed how many different, interesting trees there are in our park. We would like to approach someone to help identify the different trees and put name tags on them,” she said.

Children had also noticed how the Bulwer Park had been upgraded, and as there was already a wonderful tennis court, they felt adding a gym section with free weight exercise machines, a skate board ramp, a BMX track, and a paved or tarred path around the park would be a great next step in this park.

“Another issue is the wooden railing around the park is falling down. Cars are able to drive through the park which is dangerous for any children playing there.

We suggest there could be a small part of the park where parking is available and a picnic area made where people can braai, along with tables and chairs. There are quite a few spots where the grass has burnt and trees have been damaged as people have built fires there,” said Miller..

The children also said they would like to see the park equipment which has been vandalised, revamped. Solar lighting around the park was also another idea suggested to improve safety.

“There is also the problem of access to the park, as children have to slide down a steep bank, as there are no stairs to access the park. It would be great if a staircase could be built,” she said.

The children also liked the idea of using a space in the park to create a community garden, where residents from Kenneth Gardens could get involved.

“We have written to the ward councillor and are hoping for a response. It would be wonderful if we could bring these ideas to fruition,” said Miller.