Bridgevale Valley rehabilitation project takes shape

A PROJECT to rehabilitate Bridgevale Valley park in Durban North is slowly taking shape. A collaborative effort between the City’s Parks Department and Enviro Fixers-Durban North has seen the park transformed in recent months with a newly installed fence being hailed as a victory for residents in the area.

In the past the valley had been the site of illegal dumping and was allegedly being used by criminals to rob homes on the park’s periphery. The space was also severely infested with alien invasive species meaning residents could not use the valley.

Now thanks to the City, a one kilometre circular track has been cleared and work on the removal of some alien species has taken place in the last 18 months.

Enviro Fixers are run by a group of passionate residents uplifting and beautifying Durban North. The group also safeguards the environment by replacing alien invader plants with indigenous plants.

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Northglen News recently caught up with Jane Troughton, Helen Koch and Carri Lambert who spoke about the group’s proposal to make turn the park into a safe space for residents and visitors to the area.

“In recent years, through the help of other local residents I’ve spearheaded clean-ups in the valley due to the illegal dumping taking place. Since our collaboration with the City we’ve seen the park completely transform. The addition of the security fence is a huge boost to the area due to all the illegal activity that has taken place over the years. Since the City has rehabilitated the area I’ve started using the space more often. My son and his friends now ride their bicycles around the track which is just fantastic,” Lambert said.

Fellow Enviro Fixers member, Jane Troughton, has also sent through a proposal to maintain the park and rehabilitate it completely.

“The proposed plan recommends that the rehabilitation, maintenance, and development of the space needs to be addressed on an ongoing basis. Part of the proposal submitted to the City was the recommendation that two general workers be employed on a full-time basis to collect litter, seed indigenous grass, mow the newly formed path and remove alien invasive plants and trees to name a few.

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“The reaction from residents to the project has been extremely positive and we would love for schools in the area to possibly consider using the track for their cross country events as a way of utilising the space to its fullest potential. Like Carri, I walk the track around the valley which is roughly a kilometre in length and I’d love to see more residents also making use of the park,” Troughton said.

The local residents also specifically thanked Sherelle Whitaker, Martin Prange, Victor Chetty and Lazzie Govender from the City for their hard work to transform the park.

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