‘Thinking’ outside the box
LONEHILL- A new community forum has been developed in the Lonehill area. The Think Community platform was developed last year by key players in the suburb, including Sandi Brown.
The forum has identified 42 initiatives in and around Lonehill as part of the Lonehill Community Initiative that will benefit the community as a whole.
The forum identified the Lonehill Koppies as one of the first major projects team wants to tackle.
“This hill and area, apart from being a Lonehill icon which gave the suburb its name, is also a South African heritage site with a lot of history. There are some iron-age sites there such as rock ‘kraal’ walls and graves and of course hundreds of dassies,” said Brown.
Our team wants to encourage young people to visit the koppies and the Lonehill Dam to view the beauty and become involved in the environmental issues. “The dam is very polluted and most of the indigenous fish have died,” added Brown.
One of the main goals of the forum is to identify and assess positive life-changing community needs and aspirations towards healthy living lifestyles. Moreover, it allows for residents’ heightened feelings of love, loyalty and legacy towards making a positive difference in their communities for the benefit of present and future generations.
Additionally, the forum promotes the active and open use of local urban parks, nature reserves, recreation and leisure facilities to advance environmental education and eco-tourism objectives.
Brown explained how resident Don Perry, a retired business man, cleans up the area and takes care of the forna at the Lonehill koppie and nature reserve. He also assists with the animal park at the Lonehill Fire Station.
This includes feeding the animals which can be quite costly as well as the weeding and general upkeep of the reserve. She went on to say, “Any residents or local businesses who are willing to donate their fresh cuttings and off-cuts please do so and this will be used by Perry to feed the dassies and the animal farm at the Lonehill Fire Station.”
She said a clean-up would be held during January. “We are calling on all residents to come down and help us keep our koppie and nature reserve clean.” Should anyone be able to assist the forum with the clean-up or the fresh cuttings for Perry, they can contact them on their Facebook page.
Details: www.facebook.com/THINKcommunityinitiatives
