Communities join scientist to clean up filthy Joburg river

“This used to be a park where people came to relax and enjoy music. But now the Credit River has become a rubbish dump,” says Kliptown resident Caleb Woodworth.

Over the weekend he joined a group of residents who cleaned the river in Extension 9 in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.

It was part of a project called ‘Greening our Jungle’ which was co-founded in 2018 by Dr Lee-Ann Sade Modley, an environmental scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg.

Modley told GroundUp that the project had been started with the non-profit EnvironMentorz, which runs a summer school for primary school children.

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The team has since grown to include more residents from Kliptown and Extension 9.

Participants say they hope that by the end of 2023, there will have been significant progress.

“This is a long-term project to promote sustainability and ultimately create a clean park and river,” said Modley.

She said funding was still a challenge, and donations of equipment for the volunteers, such as rakes, plastic bags, and netting, would be welcome.

This article first appeared on GroundUp and was republished with permission. Read the original article here.