Environmental issues
The CRA's environmental portfolio has three parts - one is the inner suburbs, one is the Braamfontein Spruit & Delta Park area, and the other is business and signage. Apart from parks/open areas, it encompasses verges, trees, water, electricity, sewage, storm water, garbage, signage, graffiti, rubble, noise and community services.
One project underway is the beautification of the islands at the intersection of the Nicol highway and Jan Smuts Avenue. Apart from finding funding (donations welcome), what has taken time is going through the bureaucratic hoops – some 10 City departments have to give approval!
The biggest challenge, however, is the cleaning up of the Braamfontein Spruit river area - click here for the trail map. (Incidentally, did you know that well over 100 birds have been recorded in this area? See info below.)
An initative in 2005 was the establishment of the Braamfontein Spruit Forum to better manage this catchment area. It was intended for operational matters like cleaning and water quality to be linked to the City’s Visible Service Delivery programme. One of the Forum’s goals was to open up the river so that spawning yellow fish can make it upstream as they did before 14 weirs blocked their route. Regrettably, it would seem that the Forum has not been very active so it would seem that there are many opportunities for environmentalists to play a role in protecting this valuable resource.
There are six streams draining from the watershed in Ward 90. Mostly they are little more than stormwater drains but they don’t have to be like that along their entire length. To read more about Joburg’s streams, visit the City Council’s page. It would be great to have custodian groups along the entire length of the Braamfontein Spruit and its tributaries.
If you have a bit of river bank that you care for, or would like to care for, contact Chris Taylor (Craighall) or Karen Hoffa (CHP) or Cllr Gordon Mackay to register your interest. Contact them too if you are aware of anyone (eg a developer) blocking any part of the riverine system or eg dumping rubbish.
If you'd like some information about suitable indigenous trees and shrubs to plant, consult our list.
Our area is particularly rich in bird life, in spite of the fact that parts of the Spruit have become degraded. (Improving the spruit area is an ongoing CRA project, as the river area has all the potential to be a major attraction of the area.) Additional information will also be found at www.deltaenviro.org.za/ or www.footprint.co.za/Braamfontein.htm (has some very attractive photos of the spruit, including the Craighall waterfall and Rattray’s Weir).
We hope that the amateur ornithologists among us will also encourage residents to take a proactive interest in enhancing the river area. Have a look at the bird list submitted by a Craighall resident and see what you can add to it.
Recycling
The subject of global warming and destruction of the earth’s resources is of concern to us all. Are you recycling?? The following extract from the 2006 Annual Review of NGO Food & Trees for Africa provides food for thought.
“Once upon a planet…
Imagine inheriting a 3.8 billion-year store of natural assets and squandering most of them in less than two centuries. This is precisely what we are doing to planet Earth. We have polluted our environment and depleted our resources to such an extent that unless we all make a commitment right now to start saving our environment, it will be too late.
The authors of Natural Capitalism* state that in the past 50 years alone, the world has lost a quarter of its topsoil and a third of its forest cover. Such human activity has now damaged many of Earth’s life-support systems: among the most critical of these systems is the continuous exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen between plants and animals. Today, however, there is so much carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere that natural systems can no longer recycle it all and we are now in an era of climate change, one that at present rates of destruction poses the greatest threat that our species has ever faced. It is predicted that at this rate, by 2100 the Earth will be warmer than it has been in 50 million years since this build up of carbon dioxide is described as having the effect of double-glazing our planet.
The good news is that we still have a small window of opportunity to reverse the devastation we have already wrought. It is tempting to ignore the problem because it seems so vast but the truth is that if every one of us makes an effort to be less wasteful, the cumulative effect will be dramatic. Simply switching off lights when not needed, taking a shorter shower and cooking without pre-heating the oven are things that any one can do. Changing from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs will make a significant difference. Figures quoted by the US publication Vanity Fair May 2006 indicate that if every household in America replaced just one traditional light bulb, the reduction in pollution would be equivalent to taking one million cars off the road.”
FTFA will help businesses, organisations and individuals establish the weight of their carbon footprint. Either use the carbon calculator on their website (www.trees.co.za) or send them your electricity usage per month or year, your local and international travel figures per year and your annual paper usage and they will calculate the number of trees that you need to plant (or sponsor) to offset your emissions.
Think about it – and then do something about it!
Heron choking
on a mouse bird
