JOHANNESBURG is the economic powerhouse of Africa, renowned for its immense malls and cutting-edge business locations, for its top-ranked hotels and entertainment venues, but just outdoors is another treasure trove - its local parks.

And the agency responsible for the city's green heritage, City Parks, is this year celebrating a centenary since Joburg's parks became part of the city's formal administrative structure.

To mark this occasion, which coincides with the decade of democracy, City Parks plans to "upgrade the ever-growing treasure trove that is Joburg's green heritage". "In celebrating a centenary of parklands in Johannesburg, we will be marketing our tourism sites," said Jenny Moodley, spokesperson for City Parks.

According to Moodley, the agency will spend some R100-million over the next three years creating new parks in Soweto and other areas in the north and south of Johannesburg. "We will establish new parks in Diepkloof, Mofolo, Klipspruit, Diepsloot and Orange Farm," she said.

City Parks' managing director Luther Williamson intends to form public-private partnerships and community-based initiatives to improve facilities at parks around the city. In a media statement Williamson said: "We no longer talk about challenges at Johannesburg City Parks, instead we talk about solutions."

Other projects will include improving the existing facilities at many of the parks. "We want to make the parks more relevant and encourage people to make more use of the available facilities. We are developing urban conservation," said Moodley.

The Wilds in Houghton

Although parklands formed a central feature of Johannesburg from its very beginnings it was only in 1904 that they became part of a formal administrative structure.

Braamfontein Cemetery was opened in 1888, quickly followed by Joubert Park, still in existence, and Kruger Park, which was established where Johannesburg Park Station is now located. By 1903 there were 10 parks and one cemetery in Johannesburg, which all fell under the control of the town engineer.

"In March 1904 the parks and cemetery were transferred to a newly-formed parks development and a superintendent of parks was appointed," said Alan Buff, general manager of technical support for City Parks.

The Chamber of Mines planted the very first trees in 1905 along the streets of Parktown. "Trees were planted at Zoo Lake and they grew very fast. The spare trees were given to the public," said Buff.

Johannesburg has grown into a green metropolis

Since then Johannesburg has grown into a green metropolis: by the early 1990s six million trees had been planted on public and private property within the boundaries of the old Johannesburg. Of the six million trees, about 1.5-million trees were planted in the city's parks, in cemeteries and on the sidewalks. With the incorporation of other municipal structures into Johannesburg in 2000 a further 1.3-million street trees became the concern of City Parks.

Johannesburg City Parks is also responsible for 6 144 hectares of developed parks; 4 443 hectares of undeveloped parks; 984 hectares of nature reserves; 2 578 hectares of street verges; 73 hectares of water surfaces; and 27 cemeteries and two crematoria.

The Botanic Gardens and Emmarentia Dam

Set in the heartland of Joburg, bounded by the suburbs of Emmarentia and Franklin Roosevelt Park, the 7.5-hectare park has two major attractions for visitors: the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens, with one of the best succulent collections in the world; and Emmarentia Dam, which offers rowing enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy their sport within the city.

Emmarentia Dam

The dam attracts a variety of bird life, while on the wide spaces to the north west of the dam people walk their dogs, picnic, jog along the pathways, or simply chill out.

Alongside the picnic area are the botanic gardens, with 2 500 specimens of succulents and more than 20 000 indigenous trees. There are also terraced ponds and fountains and a Shakespearean garden, with herbs and roses.

The Johannesburg Botanic Gardens also host several outdoor Sunday music soirées throughout the year.

Besides providing an open space where residents can relax, the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens are also involved in a seed exchange programme with 300 other gardens worldwide. It provides cutting-edge scientific research, information and education about world flora through its library and educational activities. 

City Parks' nature reserves

City Parks manages four nature reserves in the Greater Johannesburg area: Rietfontein, 24 kilometres north of the city in Paulshof; Klipriviersberg, a 680-hectare reserve 11 kilometres south of the city; Kloofendal, a mountainous reserve to the west of the city, in Roodepoort; and Melville Koppies, an historic site five kilometres from the city centre.

Klipriviersberg, in the south, has 680 hectares of open veld and unspoilt koppies for hiking. This magical spot not only offers a range of wildlife, including zebra, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, mountain reedbuck and duiker, it also has 150 bird species, 600 plant species and 50 tree types.

It is also a rich archaeological site, with the remains of 19 stonewalled Iron Age settlements dating back to 1500, as well as numerous Stone Age artefacts. A replica of an ancient BaTswana village gives visitors an insight into the early pastoral lifestyle of the region.

Melville Koppies, five kilometres north west of the city centre, has been declared a national monument. It contains a Stone Age camp with artefacts dating back 50 000 years and an Iron Age Furnace, discovered in 1963. The iron-smelting debris found next to the furnace was carbon-dated to around 1600.

Besides its historical value, Melville Koppies abounds with animals, a variety of grasses, indigenous trees, shrubs and spring flowers. Some of the oldest rocks on earth have also been found here: the greenstone is estimated to be 3 000-million years old.

Kloofendal, eight kilometres from Soweto in the hills of Roodepoort, is one of the first game reserves in Joburg, with zebra, black wildebeest and other small buck. The 110-hectare reserve is still under development and, according to City Parks, the area's importance lies in its environmental education and eco-tourism potential. 

Picnic spots

To understand Joburg's diversity, one must experience its parks. City Parks has a number of picnic sites, such as Zoo Lake, Wemmer Pan in Prolecon, Emmarentia Dam, Florida Lake and Innesfree Park, in Sandton. Each park offers unique facilities for visitors. Take the family on a cruise on Wemmer Pan or head out to Florida Lake and visit the adjoining bird sanctuary.

Zoo Lake

Once a year people flock to the Zoo Lake for the Arts Alive jazz concert or to Emmarentia Dam for the ongoing classical musical events. In some parks, people party to loud kwaito music. The carnival atmosphere at Thokoza Park - recently revamped at a cost of R20-million - is exceptionally popular with teenagers and young adults. This park, in Rockville, Soweto, hosts up to 10 000 people on weekends.

The Dorothy Nyembe Park in Dobsonville, Soweto is also a must-see. This 3.5-hectare park was reopened on 9 August last year to coincide with Women's Day celebrations. Its upgrade cost R7.5-million and it represents Joburg's commitment to improving infrastructure in disadvantaged areas. It was named after African National Congress activist Dorothy Nyembe, who spent many years as a political prisoner. Its sporting facilities include netball, volleyball and basketball courts, a soccer field and areas set aside for visitors to play chess and morabaraba. 

Heritage trails

The agency has a number of heritage trails such as the Braamfontein Cemetery. Here memorials to Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, who was the composer of the African hymn, and South Africa's national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' i Afrika, and Nagappen and Valliamma, early martyrs of Mahatma Gandhi's passive resistance campaign, can be seen.

Walter Sisulu memorial in Newclare

The graves of struggle veterans Alfred Nzo and Joe Modise can be found alongside child Aids activist Nkosi Johnson in West Park Cemetery, near Montgomery Park, while in Newclare a memorial to ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu has been erected. In Avalon Cemetery, in Chiawelo, Soweto, many of the heroes of the struggle for democracy have been laid to rest - including Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi and Joe Slovo of the ANC, and Zephania Mothopeng, the fiery former Pan Africanist Congress leader, Tsitsi Mashinini, a student leader of the 1976 uprisings and Hector Pieterson, the first student shot on 16 June 1976.

Brixton has a memorial for soldiers who died in the WW1, while at the Avalon Cemetery the Mendi memorial remembers the 217 soldiers who died when the ship the Mendi sank in the North Sea off the British coast in February 1917.

The Oppenheimer Tower in Jabavu, Soweto, displays the statues of King Shaka, Zulu leader and warrior, King Moshoeshoe, the Basotho strategist, and mining magnate Ernest Oppenheimer. The bricks that built this tower come from the remains of Sophiatown, a lively non-racial suburb destroyed during the apartheid era.

Sophiatown was the stamping ground of flamboyant and witty writers like Can Themba, Nat Nakasa and Casey Motsisi. It was also the place to watch the sexy lead vocalist of the Harlem Swingsters, Dolly Rathebe, who starred in the first feature film to be shot on location in South Africa, Jim Comes to Joburg.

The cultural heritage of Johannesburg continues to grow, giving visitors a rich choice of places to visit. The once dusty mining town has transformed over the past 100 years into the greenest city on earth, and City Parks is planning to celebrate this growth.

City Parks offers school tours of the various heritage trails. To organise a school tour contact Alan Buff on 011 712 6605.