A clean-up held at the Burgers Park Greenhouse on September 30 was meant to tackle hordes of different plants but volunteers were met with hordes of human waste instead.
The clean-up was led by Ms Africa 2024, McCayla Warriker and stakeholders involved the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the Tshwane Metro, the Tshwane Leadership Foundation (TLF), as well as students from TUT and UP, among others.
The greenhouse currently has cracked windows, as overgrown and dying plants, mounds of trash and faeces and even make-shift beds were uncovered during the clean-up.
The structure is dilapidated and the ablution facilities are under lock and key and underwater as well from water leaks, rendering them unusable.
Warriker believes that volunteer efforts and collaborations are essential to restoring not just the greenhouse but the entire park to its former glory.
“We’re looking to inspire inner-city revival, we want people to start taking better care of their surroundings, our shared home, our community. We also want to create a safe space where people can go outdoors. We also have a lot of kids in this area who live in flats and apartments and very isolated conditions, so we want to give them a space to come outside and experience nature and wildlife. We want to continue nurturing an environmentally conscious generation,” she said.
Warriker says the ablution facilities and the fencing around the park should be the main areas to address. The bandstand, park kiosk and pod are also other areas that she believes can attract tourists to the area.
“Every park is our park you know, it’s a backyard for everyone so when we have the privilege to walk in them, let’s keep them clean,” she said.
TLF student volunteers coordinator, Taryn Mntambo, says they came out to support the initiative because part of their student work involves helping their local community.
“I want them to engage more regarding helping the community and spaces within the community except for just volunteering in an office space and that’s it. They should understand the way that TLF is involved in the community,” said Mntambo.
The TLF student and volunteer group also conducts clothing drives, fundraisers and donation drives as well in the community.
Mntambo says the clean-up held a special place in her heart given her upbringing.
“I grew up in this area. As a child, I have a lot of pictures from this park so it really breaks my heart to see the state it’s currently in. I normally don’t come to the park anymore and I don’t allow my son to either. A lot of men I see do unspeakable things here. That was one of my encounters when I was 15 that led me to stop coming to the park so I’d love to be part of the hands that help the park get back to its former glory,” she said.
Accompanying Mntambo were three German exchange students who also took part in the cleaning.
“I think it’s important to take care of the greenhouse because it’s very beautiful and to see it degrading like this won’t benefit anyone,” said Curt Frangen.
“I think that the greenhouse could be important to people that live here, it could help the community. It’s not looking good now, people are living here but it can be special if we work on it,” said Katharina Bruck.
“It’s such a beautiful greenhouse and we’ve seen how it was 10 years ago with a lot of plants from all over the world and it can be again,” said Luise Flemming.
Stakeholders interested in helping the revival can contact McCayla Warriker (062 292 3969) or Taryn Mntambo (067 778 0498).
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