Education will be a primary focus at The Wilds, which has been fenced and is now a safe refuge from the bustle of city life.

Green lawns, sparkling ponds, indigenous flora . . . one of the city's treasures

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HE Wilds has been designated a conservation area. This means it will concentrate on education, taking schoolchildren and adults on tours to enjoy and learn about the 68-year-old indigenous park.

The park, opened to the public in 1938, has beautifully laid stone paths, immaculate lawns and delightful ponds and waterfalls. It was ceded to the City on condition that it remains in its natural state. Its 40 acres are planted with the best of South Africa's indigenous flora, attracting a myriad of birds.

In the past year Johannesburg City Parks has spent about R500 000 on fencing the western koppie and repairing the pumps and boreholes that feed the many waterways running on both west and east sides of the ridge, which is cut by Houghton Drive. New signage has gone up, indicating activities allowed in the park, but also cautioning that walkers enter the park at their own risk.

The Wilds now joins other city conservation parks: Melville Koppies Nature Reserve, Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, Kloofendal Nature Reserve, Johannesburg Botanic Gardens and Rietfontein Nature Reserve.

Vivien Malema, the manager of environmental education at City Parks, says that from the new year her department will take school and adult groups on tours of The Wilds, focusing on the valuable flora.

A new fence and signage has given new life to The Wilds

Guides are being trained for the tours. In addition, a state-of-the-art environmental education centre has been opened at the Dorothy Nyembe Park in Soweto, which was revamped in 2003.

This includes herb and succulent gardens, a wetland system, a hall and a recreational park with a small dinosaur display, where children are taken for tours, Malema says.

Fence
The Wilds has been beleaguered for some time by stories of crime and muggings, and thefts from cars on the corner of Houghton Drive and Newton Avenue. The park has offered criminals an easy escape route, but with the perimeter now fenced, those problems have largely disappeared.

"We haven't seen any problems since the fence went up," says Oscar Oliphant, the senior manager for stakeholder liaison at City Parks, adding that the park is a lot safer since it was fenced.

Local resident TJ de Klerk has been involved in the rehabilitation of The Wilds, where he has walked his dogs for the past 18 years.

Through the Houghton Residents' Association, about R55 000 has been raised to erect a palisade fence on the eastern side of The Wilds, along Houghton Drive. He says a further R20 000 needs to be raised to complete the fence along Munro Drive.

Over the festive season City Parks will collaborate with Metro Police and the South African Police Service to make sure that Joburg's parks are safe, Oliphant says. This applies particularly to Zoo Lake, Thokoza Park, Rhodes Park and Florida Lake.

Like The Wilds, Florida Lake has been fenced off this year, preventing vehicles from entering the grasslands. On the weekends two wardens patrol the park. "Police are more visible and incidents are now almost zero," adds Oliphant.

One of the two fountains in the park has been repaired. From a list of 12 outstanding items to get attention in the park, all were attended to within a few weeks, he says. After 20 years families are now coming back to have picnics and enjoy the park.

City Parks maintains almost 1 000 parks across Joburg.