Joburg residents are requested to take care of the environment by composting fallen leaves and to refrain from setting them alight.
Johannesburg - Freedom Day was commemorated by Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) by appealing to residents to take greater care of the environment and to change environmental behaviours.
The Huang siblings, Sky, 7, and Sunny, 5, are JCPZ’s newest eco-warriors, who collected fallen leaves for composting in China Town, Cyrildene. The leaves provide a golden carpet along tree-lined streets in autumn. The decaying leaves serve as the primary source of nourishment for the tree canopy in the city and should be allowed to thrive naturally.
A passionate Sky and his sister Sunny, thoroughly enjoyed tossing the leaves into bags and remarked that: “Trees are important for us to breathe and if there’s no trees, we will die and so will the animals.”
City of Joburg member of the mayoral community for community development, Margaret Arnolds said: “Unfortunately City Parks which manages the city’s open spaces and tree canopy, receives an increase in the number of requests during autumn and winter for the removal of trees stemming due to falling leaves.
“Requests vary, with complaints that the shedding of leaves are a nuisance; that fallen leaves are damaging gardens, lawns and pools and that the tree itself needs to be removed as it blocks-out the sunlight or that the tree is a threat to security.
“These requests are unwarranted and compound the concerns of a fast-ageing treescape that is exposed to opportunistic diseases such as the polyphagus shot hole borer; increased development and urbanisation; inclement and erratic weather and the need for added resources to accelerate a sustained tree-replacement programme in the City of Joburg.
“Freedom Day served as a reminder that as residents, we have a right to healthy spaces, however that right comes with a responsibility to care for the environment by adopting more caring behaviours and shifting mindsets,” she said.
Residents are requested to compost fallen leaves and to refrain from setting leaves alight; to be mindful that City Parks will only remove dead or uprooted street trees and to help grow the city’s award-winning manmade tree canopy by planting fruit and indigenous trees in private spaces.
Enquiries on how to assist in protecting the trees in Joburg, may be sent on WhatsApp to 082 8030 748 or email trees@jhbcityparks.com.
The Star
Related Topics:
