Music on the ridge more than just music fest

Northcliff High School recently held a music festival at Northcliff Ridge Ecopark as part of an eco-friendly initiative and clean-up operations with its Generation Earth Club a one of the organisers.

This event was the first of its kind to be held in the park.

Club members and pupils cleared the park of litter and broken glass.

Teachers and organisers aimed to raise awareness of a safe venue for families to visit and to raise money for further rehabilitation. The park is considered an important ecological unit as a corridor and refuge for wild animals in the middle of intensive urbanization, and is a small patch of conserved Rocky Ridge Grassveld of the Grassland Biome.

The school’s choir entertained guests at the festival. Among other performances, there was also a piano piece by Adam George, a solo by Pricilia Boloko and an a capella group.Tamryn Bertram sang a song she wrote about the need for conserving “our” natural heritage.

Michelle Bertschinger, a volunteer at FreeMe, also gave a talk on the wild animals found in the suburbs of Johannesburg which FreeMe rescues, rehabilitates and releases.

George Angelos of the Northcliff Ridge Resident’s Association ended the event with a brief talk on the park developments since it was declared an Ecopark a few years ago.