White River community helps to clean town
Several White River community members and organisations recently undertook to clean the town up in a joint effort.
Several members of the community gathered on Saturday morning, June 3, in a bid to clean up a particularly grimy part of town.
The Power of 8000 (TPO8000) community action group co-ordinated this much-needed clean-up and rallied other organisations to get involved, including the White River Youth Forum, the White River Rugby Club, some Grade Threes from Uplands Preparatory School and the City of Mbombela’s parks department.
According to TPO8000’s Lisa Gordon-Davis, the area that was targeted for the clean-up was critical, as it is along the R40 heading north out of town. She said the corner is overgrown, and the area is often used by taxis as a parking spot during the day and is littered with rubble.
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“The mess on the busy tourist road was an eyesore that did not reflect well on the town,” she said. “Despite a cool and drizzly morning, about 40 people arrived to work. The entire corner and about 100m up each of the roads were slashed, cut and cleared within just over four hours. At least five truckloads were loaded and taken to a dumpsite by the parks department.”
Gordon-Davis said once the clean-up was completed, the difference was astonishing. “Most people were unaware there is an attractive wall on both corners of Kiepersol Street, which were totally overgrown. These are now exposed, and TPO8000 has plans to create a garden on that corner.”
She said some finishing touches are still required, and the TPO8000 team will be doing the final clearing and spraying of invasive aliens and weeds in the next week. Bins will be placed under the trees, and according to Gordon-Davis, the taxi operators have agreed to help keep the area clean going forward.
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“We want to thank everyone who was involved, from the hard-working volunteers, those who brought drinks and snacks, to the parks department for providing their team and vehicles. This is Team White River at its best,” she said.
To learn more about TPO8000, visit www.tpo8000.co.za or contact Gordon-Davis on 082 901 4334.
