City of Joburg scoops National Arbor City Award

The City of Joburg scooped the National Arbor City Award for 2019 at the launch of Arbor Month on 1 September.

The announcement was made by deputy minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Maggie Sotyu in Port Elizabeth. The award included R300 000 in prize money, which will be used to purchase seeds, saplings and trees to grow Joburg’s man-made forest and address greening disparities across the city.

The tough competition brought together local and metropolitan cities to compete for the prestigious award. This is the fourth time the City of Joburg has received the award. Adjudicators interrogated policies, inter-governmental planning, capital development programmes and also made comparisons with visible policing on the ground and monitoring mechanisms towards the creation of vibrant, sustainable and liveable cities as part of their assessment.

The adjudicators said that they were particularly impressed with the manner in which Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) have handled the polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB) infestation across the City.

JCPZ arboriculturist Adelaide Chokoe said, “JCPZ saved hundreds of trees on the backdrop of calls and unending social media pressure to remove all infested trees. In the absence of proper research and an approved chemical solution to treat infested trees, JCPZ only removed dead, infested trees. Many of the trees, albeit infested, are not displaying symptoms of fusarium dieback at this stage.”

Chokoe began her PhD focusing on PSHB and also received an award for her outstanding contribution to greening in the City of Joburg.

MMC for Community Development Councillor Nonhlanhla Sifumba said, “To be recognised by the highest level of government is a testament to the collective expertise, passion and commitment of every employee at JCPZ and within the City, who are consciously working to project Joburg’s man-made forest.”

In celebration of Arbor Month, the City of Joburg will be hosting tree-planting ceremonies across the city.

Sifumba said,

“It’s time to restore that sense of urgency to accelerate tree planting in the city. We have an ageing tree canopy, with many species reaching its full life expectancy and, as a result, these trees have become more prone to opportunistic diseases and the effect of inclement weather.”

Sifumba encouraged schools, residents associations, businesses, government and the media to work together to plant trees across the city this Arbor Month.

Please send through details regarding the number of trees, the species and the area where you will be planting to trees@jhbcityparks.com. For a detailed list of preferred tree species, visit www.jhbcityparks.com

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