|
In less than seven hours the area outside
Orlando Stadium has been transformed from dusty, littered veld into an
attractive green lung.
Braving the chill to lend a hand
PART of the neglected, barren piece of land
at the southwest entrance to Orlando Stadium, which used to be heaped with
waste and overgrown grass and was used as a pastureland for cattle and
pigs, has been transformed into a lush green lung in just under seven hours - thanks
to City Park's extreme park makeover scheme.
More than 300 people from the local
community, some conspicuously feeble, 200 City Parks employees and about 100 workers
from the department of community development braved the cold grip of a chilly Joburg
on Tuesday, 9 June to lend a hand in the Greening Orlando Stadium Challenge.
Designed to spruce up and turn the stadium
precinct into a green oasis in just under 12 hours, the "greening challenge"
was part of City Parks' extreme park makeover scheme, which has been devised to
encourage its workforce to aim for service excellence.
The stadium was also greened as part of
City Parks' extensive drive to turn Soweto
into a verdant township. "We believe that having a green environment
contributes to the wellbeing and the healthy lifestyle of our communities,"
said Luther Williamson, the utility's managing director.
On the greening of Orlando Stadium
Those involved talk about greening the perimeter of Orlando Stadium in under seven hours. See the video. |
City Parks is the municipal-owned entity
charged with greening and maintaining Joburg's parks and open spaces. "Really the
emphasis is to make sure that people are given the opportunity to hope for
better things to come and to give them a space. By planting trees we create a
much cleaner environment and we reduce pollution."
Catalyst
The greening initiative would serve as a catalyst to offset air pollution and
improve the state of the environment for the benefit and enhancement of the
township, its citizens and visitors, Williamson explained.
Sharing the passion and excitement, City Parks' MD Luther Williamson (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
The long-term goal is to have a green Soweto as a legacy of the
2010 World Cup, putting it on par with its northern Joburg counterparts; to help
change the face of the sprawling township; and to commit to bettering the lives
of its people, increase its aesthetics and boost civic pride.
About 144 000 trees had already been
planted in the township as part of the Greening of Soweto legacy project,
Williamson said. City Parks would have to make sure that by December, 200 000
trees were planted in southern parts of the metro, particularly in Soweto. City Parks would
plant more than 6 000 trees by the end of this month.
"We will continue with this momentum of
really trying to go for gold, seeking glory through hard work. And that's what
we are here to do. The passion and excitement that we had today to deliver is
the same that we want people of this country to embrace," Williamson
said in thanks for the team effort on the day.
Eunice Hlungwani, who came all the way from
Chiawelo in the southern periphery of Soweto,
was neatly dressed in City Parks' trademark blue overalls and maroon gloves.
She was tilling the land diligently with a hoe, planting every tree and flower
with ease.
With a huge smile, she explained her responsibilities.
"My task here is to plant the Rhus lancea plant at Orlando Stadium. Even
thought I won't be here to monitor its growth, I believe it will grow copiously."
Volunteer
A volunteer, Mpho Mhlongo, who planted the same tree was hard at work tilling
the land and helping to transform the once dull area into a lush green lung in
record time. He said he volunteered to green the stadium because he liked
beauty and cleanliness.
Speaking with chirpy humour in his mother
tongue, Tshivenda, Mhlongo said: "People who are infamous for vandalising
public property must change their mindsets and allow for the country to be
developed, so that when 2010 comes, things will be alright."
Mhlongo and Hlungwani were among the hordes
of volunteers who worked around the clock to green the land.
By 1.30pm, work was at the six-hour mark
and the stadium was a hive of activity, with workers accelerating their pace to
meet the 2.30pm deadline. Schoolchildren from local schools that had closed for
the day encouraged the effort.
Sounds of jubilation increased by 2pm when
the gleeful workers ululated and celebrated the delivery of a fully fledged
green oasis, which had with plenty of indigenous trees comprising Rhus lancea, Combretum
erythrophyllum, Rhus leptodictya and Olea Europeae sub species Africana.
By 2.30pm, there was a lush welcome at the stadium's
entrance, where flower beds had been planted.
Irrigation
A permanent irrigation system was installed and was already
operational by the unveiling. Work started around 9am and took less than eight
hours to complete.
City Parks hard at work
The Greening Orlando Stadium Challenge was commissioned
by the City's department of community development in its role as custodian of
sporting facilities. The stadium is the first football venue to be greened as
part of a citywide initiative to project a green and aesthetically pleasing urban
image.
City Parks is tasked with accelerating the
beautification of soccer venues and levelling greening imbalances in southern
parts of the metro. Orlando Stadium has been earmarked as a training venue for
the Confederations Cup, which kicks off on 14 June, and the World Cup.
"The emphasis is that if you have green
stadiums you will have thousands of fans coming here. They will see that the
plush greenery gives a sense that things are really changing rapidly the
country," Williamson noted.
Pioneer
City Parks wanted the project to act as a pioneer for other greening
initiatives around Joburg, to rigorously escalate the importance of greening,
as Joburg built towards the World Cup.
Williamson spoke about other extreme park
makeovers City Parks had undertaken. "It's nail-biting and this is gaining a
lot of international attention; people are cramming in to try to sponsor and
get involved in these programmes.
Prema Naidoo, the portfolio head of environment, said in his keynote address that
the changes were dramatic and beautiful. "This area was once an overgrown veld
which was used as a site for illegal dumping. In [under] 12 hours, community
members, celebrities, sporting legends, City Parks and officials from the City
of Joburg have
transformed it into a place we can all be proud of."
He urged community members to take "great
care" of the R280-million investment in Orlando.
"It is very important that the trees planted here today are not only for
beauty, but that they play an important role in improving the quality of life.
And the air that we breathe is a bit different because of the trees, which also
prevent soil erosion and avert climate change."
Stadium
Based in the heart of Soweto, on Mooki Street on the
eastern edge of Orlando, one of Soweto's first suburbs, the 45 000-seat
Orlando Stadium is a stone's throw from where the anti-apartheid student uprising
erupted in 1976.
Construction work stretches from the north
to the west across the stadium, where the construction of the Bus Rapid Transit
station and route has set the area abuzz with excitement.
Setting the shape of the skyline of Soweto, Orlando Stadium
was built in 1959 with a seating capacity for 24 000 people. The original
stadium was demolished in 2006 to make way for the current imposing facility,
at a cost to the City of R280-million.
With an imposing encircling roof that covers
more than 70 percent of spectators, the stadium comprises amenities like hospitality
suites, conference facilities, meeting rooms, a gymnasium, a fan shop, office
space, video screens and security facilities, including CCTV cameras.
Joburg has plans to turn the facility into
a multipurpose hub for soccer, rugby, social gatherings, music and other
concerts.
Related stories:
|
