Looking after a neighbourhood park sometimes means spending time picking up what others have left behind. At Alberts Farm Conservancy, learners and adults shared that work during a recent spruit clean-up.

The 19 September clean-up brought together Friends of Alberts Farm Conservancy, residents, teachers, parents and learners from Northcliff High School’s Enviro Club. The Lew Geffen Sotheby’s Realty team and the Johannesburg City Parks Cooperative Programme team joined them.

According to the Northcliff Melville Times, volunteers removed rubbish from the spruit and its surroundings, cleared the water channel, tackled invasive plants and trimmed trees along the riverbank. The conservancy committee thanked everyone for their contribution. 

There is more here than a place to walk.

Alberts Farm’s grass, rocky ridges and water provide habitat alongside the space people use for outdoor exercise.

The conservancy records frogs, small mammals and a variety of birds, including herons, kingfishers and owls. Its rocky areas also support aloes and ground orchids, details that are easy to miss on a familiar walk. 

That gives the clean-up a purpose beyond appearances. The rubbish was being removed from a place that other living things call home.

Keep the effort going.

Visitors can help on an ordinary outing, too:

• Take rubbish home if a bin is full or unavailable.
• Leave plants and wildlife undisturbed.
• Ask about organised volunteer work before attempting vegetation removal or working in the water.
• Leave hazardous waste alone, including needles and broken glass, and alert those managing the clean-up.

For information about the conservancy and its activities:

• Visit Alberts Farm Conservancy’s website

The Bottom Line

The next time you walk through Alberts Farm, spare a thought for the neighbours who helped clear it. Taking your own litter home is a small way to make their work last.