A lot of hard work is going into making Hutchison Park and surrounds a better sporting and recreational hub for the greater Toti community.
eThekweni Municipality’s natural resources and conservation department is currently working closely with the Amanzimtoti Sports Centre (ASC) to eradicate alien vegetation in Ilanda Wilds, which borders Hutchison Park.
Two key personnel ensuring the success of the project are conservancy officer, Khumbuzile Luthuli and supervisor, Bongani Nzama.
“We are committed to cleaning up Ilanda Wilds. We don’t want it to revert back to its current state,” said Khumbuzile. “We want to work together with members of the public, as we are passionate about the area.”
“We have a good relationship with the parks department district 5, headed up by Bruce Blake, which we would like to build on,” said ASC chairman, Craig Chamier. “It has been working well for the past six years. There are some passionate people we work with, such as Gugu Khanyeza, who is always very accommodating.
We are currently trying to replicate this relationship with the natural resources and conservation department, as Ilanda Wilds, which is their responsibility, impacts hugely on Hutchison Park.
We will then move on to the wastewater department.
The ASC are currently concentrating on areas which we call three and four – from the bridge on Hutchison Roadand the squash courts to the pumphouse at the start of the old River Gardens site, bordered by Riverside Road (see green area on map).
The idea is if we can expand the area used by the Toti community for running, biking or dog walking to include more of Ilanda Wilds, it will alleviate some of the pressure off Hutchison Park. This area can be so much more.
Priority number one is safety and security, coupled with a clean environment.
Bongani has been fantastic and very hands-on with this project.”
Municipal workers from the Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary and Umgababa have been roped in to clear the alien vegetation. Work on the project commenced on Thursday, 27 August and should be completed in about two weeks.
“We were very impressed when we called a meeting on 9 August, which was a public holiday and Khumbuzile and Bongani attended. Within three weeks, work was underway and we can already see the rewards.”
Once the alien clearing and poisoning is done, all the litter will be picked up. When work is completed in this area, the team will move across the river to tackle the rest of Ilanda Wilds. The plan is then to erect signboards and information boards in the surrounding area.
“Ideally area four should be re-fenced from Hutchison Park along Riverside Road to the pumphouse entrance and private property, which is the old river gardens site.
This area could then be connected by a pedestrian and cycling bridge to the King Shaka park area on the other side of the river. This would open up many positive spin-offs. The key though is sustainability,” said Craig.
