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It's the annual City Parks Environmental Awards, where the company acknowledges the efforts of employees and others who go out of their way to make Johannesburg a cleaner, greener city.
EVERY year City Parks recognises those employees, environmental organisations and companies who go out of their way to make the city a cleaner, greener urban space.
Known as the City Parks Environmental Awards, it is about acknowledging ordinary people doing extraordinary things, said managing director for City Parks, Luther Williamson at this year's event, held at Melrose Arch on 21 October.
City Parks had a particularly busy year and launched some unusual, first-time projects which walked away with the laurels this year.
Extraordinary projects
In May this year, City Parks achieved the extraordinary. It created a 2ha park in just 24-hours in Diepkloof, the second park of its kind to be done in just one day.
Acknowledging greening efforts beyond City Parks, Dr Anita Khoosal and Yoonus Mitha receive a chairperson's award on behalf of Lenz Going Green
The project was the winner of this year's managing director's award in the Project Extraordinaire category.
Last year, the Kremetart Park development, also a 24-hour extreme park make-over walked away with the best major project award at the same event.
What made the Diepkloof project so incredible was that an area double the size of the previous extreme park was developed in the same amount of time, and with the added challenge of some additional features, including a splash pool and mini soccer field.
"It is always amazing to see; you build a park in 24-hours and 4 000 children come the next day to enjoy it," Williamson said. City Parks hopes to add another project to the record books when it develops a two kilometre street island in 24-hours.
Another unusual park stole the overall award in the special project category from worthy finalists, among them the Ivory Park Upgrade and the beautification of Avalon Cemetery.
The Nkanyezi Park in Soweto was created by City Parks in August this year and is specifically geared toward children with disabilities. It has wheelchair friendly play equipment and a touch and smell garden for the visually impaired, among other things.
Individual efforts
Specific individual efforts also did not go unnoticed. Seventeen City Parks employees were singled out for their excellent work over the past year. They were judged on being innovative, encouraging teamwork, going the extra mile, their ability to use resources and complying with safety regulations.
In the end it was Wellington Khosa who walked away with the best performance award for operations while extended public works programme administrator, Paula Wilken, took the award in the administration category.
The best-managed depot was Sandton 406, managed by Joseph Ndou.
External awards are also given to those outside of City Parks who make a tangible difference to the green environment. These awards are given by the chairperson of the City Parks board, Griffith Zabala.
In the media category, Hybrid Living, Big Media, 94.7 Highveld Stereo, Sowetan, Caxton, Landscape SA and Soweto TV were acknowledged for promoting greening in Johannesburg.
Environmental institutions singled out in the urban greening category were Footprint, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Working for Water, Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the South African Green Industries Council.
Corporate social investment award winners were Toyota South Africa for its river clean-up drives; Township TV for its Big Screen TVs in the City's parks; Standard Bank SA for the Nkanyezi Park for Children with Physical Disabilities; and Airports Company SA for the 2010 Greening Soweto Legacy Project.
The Paulshof Ratepayers Association and the Lenasia Going Green project were awarded in the community-based greening category; Karabo Primary School in Naledi walked off with the Children in Greening award and the Woman in Greening award went to Jenny Crwys-Williams of Talk radio 702.
Finalists in the various categories were judged by an independent, external panel.
More awards
Williamson recently returned from Spain where he delivered a presentation on the City's Greening Soweto project to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Delegates referred to him as the 24-hour-park-man, he said, adding that the world is starting to take note of City Parks projects.
"We are getting the world's attention," he said.
The Diepkloof Xtreme Park, together with Cosmo City and the Klipriver/Klipspruit rehabilitation project are also finalists in the sustainable project category of the Liveable Communities (LivCom) competition, a United Nations initiative recognising those cities and municipalities which make an effort to create liveable spaces for their inhabitants.
The City of Johannesburg has also been nominated as a finalist in the whole city category.
The awards ceremony takes place on 10 November in Dongguan, China.
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