Emma Park gets a clean-up
WARD 99 – A much-needed clean-up of the park took place and Ward 99 councillor Nikki van Dyk was there to assist in the operation.
On the morning of January 26 Ward 99 councillor, Nikki van Dyk, together with the City’s Augmented Field Services Operation conducted a clean-up of Emma Park.
Van Dyk described there were about 100 workers at the park all kitted with plastic bags and gloves in order to ensure the park’s cleanliness. “It has been neglected for quite some time and we are hoping this will be a continuous operation at least once a month just to try to keep the park in its natural state.”
For this big operation they had about 300 refuse bags with them and within about an hour or two, they had filled a huge chunk of those bags. They had managed to clear out a lot of things through this clean-up, and not all of it was litter. “We found lots of clothes, kids’ toys, mattresses, so you never know what you’ll find during these operations.”
According to the councillor, Emma Park does tend to be problematic. Though she did say it was never too bad a park, after Covid-19 hard lockdown restrictions, it seemed to become more of a hub for displaced people and waste pickers, “Today we are also trying to work with the waste pickers just to try and educate them on keeping the park clean even while they sort through their waste.”
This augmented field services operation was introduced last year, not only in legislation but in full force, described Van Dyk. It comprises of 10 workers per ward who will work daily to try and do basic services within the ward as an additional portion to service delivery. “Today this was a large operation, and every week they pick two wards to do mass operations to do these sort of clean-ups we are seeing here,” she said.
Van Dyk’s main aim is to make sure residents get more involved in it. She said this is the main park in Linden and it is actually quite a beautiful space that used to be utilised by dog-training facilities and gyms, “One of my big projects for my term because I do know the budget is a concern, is to try and get a natural gym-going here and those dog-training schools back and see if it can be better utilised as right now, it is only being used by a few dog walkers and joggers.”
The more residents utilise the park, the safer the space becomes.
Related Article:
