Objective: Promote indigenous landscaping, and enhance biodiversity
Cape Town is situated in the Cape Floristic Kingdom, one of the world’s richest biodiversity hot spots, and is home to the greatest non-tropical concentration of plant species in the world. In addition, the city borders the Cape Floristic Kingdom World Heritage Site, which includes Table Mountain, the city’s best-known landmark.
Steps were taken to ensure that the activities associated with the World Cup event did not have a negative impact on biodiversity or the natural environment.
Landscaping projects in and around key venues prioritised indigenous species over exotics. City beautification projects linked to the event, such as tree-planting and urban regeneration projects, were encouraged. An indigenous biodiversity showcase garden was included in the new Green Point Park adjacent to the stadium. The showcase garden raises awareness of the unique plant species in the city, and demonstrates indigenous horticultural and gardening practices.
The projects
Project actions
Indigenous gardening training programme for Green Point Urban Park staff
Biodiversity showcase garden at Green Point Urban Park
Green Point Park adjacent to Green Point Stadium is a brand new public park and a legacy project of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The park was developed according to ecological principles, with energy and water efficiency, multipurpose spaces and indigenous landscaping incorporated into the design.
A biodiversity showcase garden of indigenous, waterwise plants that displays the region’s biodiversity and demonstrates responsible environmental gardening/horticultural practices was established in the park.
The garden has three themed areas: People and Plants, Discover Biodiversity and a Wetland Walk. There are over 300 species in the garden and over 25000 plants were planted. The total planted area is approximately 5500m2.
The availability of spring water from the Oranjezicht Springs presented an opportunity to develop a wetlands landscape. This area not only captures and manages water quality and flows, using reed beds and vegetation, but also provides habitats for small frogs and insects.
A combination of interpretive signage and educational art provides the visitor with a range of messages about the value of biodiversity.
An educational booklet was developed to enhance the educational value of the garden. The Cape Town Stadium visitor centre offers tours of the biodiversity garden and Green Point Park.
The biodiversity showcase garden is a legacy project of the Green Goal 2010 programme, and was selected as one of the City’s ICLEI Local Action for Biodiversity projects. It was one of the focus areas of the City’s campaign to promote biodiversity awareness during 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. In lieu of a training programme for landscapers, ongoing hands-on training is provided to the staff of the landscape contractors responsible for maintaining the garden.
Lessons learnt on the indigenous gardening training programme and biodiversity showcase garden
It is fortunate that the biodiversity showcase garden was planted and landscaped at the same time as the remainder of Green Point Park. The garden is integrated with a series of wetlands and water ponds, and interpretive signage enables users to appreciate that Cape Town is one of only three cities in the world that ranks as an urban biodiversity hot spot.
The combination of interpretive signage and educational art provides the visitor with information in a fresh and exciting way. The themes were carefully selected to be relevant to biodiversity conservation in the urban context.
The staff members of the park’s landscaping contractors were trained on how to care for the garden. However, due to staff turnover, this cannot be a once-off, but will need to continue as an annual programme.
Student landscape design competition for Mouille Point beachfront and promenade
In April 2008, a competition was launched for landscape design and architectural students from UCT and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) to show how they would transform the Mouille Point beachfront and promenade, located along the main protocol route leading to Cape Town Stadium, ahead of 2010. The brief required the students to create a safe, spacious and aesthetically pleasing inner-city recreational area, allowing for a diversity of uses. The students were also required to include 2010 Green Goal principles, such as biodiversity, green building, mobility, efficient water use, and waste minimisation and recycling, in their designs.
A panel of judges, including representatives from the City, Province, CPUT, OVP Landscape Architects and the Cape Town Partnership, reviewed the submissions. The winners were announced on 8 May 2008, with Scott Masson (UCT) and Marica Fick (CPUT) winning the top prizes.
The upgrade of the promenade will continue after the World Cup.
Lessons learned on the student landscape design competition
The Mouille Point student landscape design competition was the first 2010 Green Goal project to be completed. At the time, it was important to show that the Green Goal programme was on track, and that it was contributing to the greening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in Cape Town. The competition increased the media profile of the 2010 Green Goal programme, and focused politicians and senior officials’ attention on this initiative.
The initiative highlighted the role that interns could play in advancing individual Green Goal projects. Interns working in the City Environmental Resource Management Department compiled the background documents, discussed the details with the students, arranged the judging, and organised the launch function. The project provided the interns with valuable work experience and skills in project management, communications and events management.
City beautification and tree-planting campaign
Cape Town and the Western Cape’s image and appearance during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ were the city and region’s calling card – not only for fans visiting Cape Town, but also for the millions of people around the world who followed the tournament on television. By signing the HCA, Host City Cape Town agreed to render the city as attractive as possible for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. City beautification related to enhancing the visual appeal of the city, and also included the screening of construction sites visible from event locations, and limiting construction works in key event areas.
As a Green Goal 2010 legacy project, the city beautification programme aimed to meet the following goals:
- To improve and maintain existing assets
- To invest in beautification of previously undeveloped areas
- To create a vibrant and exciting atmosphere in the city ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
- To promote excellent design and creativity
- To promote a spirit of community and civic engagement through involvement in local beautification programmes
- To gain maximum financial advantage and media exposure through opportunities created by city decoration and beautification
A detailed scoping exercise was undertaken between January and April 2009 to identify and map areas where improvements and maintenance had to be prioritised ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The maps and detailed description of issues were presented to the City’s executive management team, for consideration and action. A number of new projects were initiated, including landscaping and tree-planting projects along the protocol routes and in the vicinity of the VSTSs in two of Cape Town’s previously disadvantaged areas. More than 2 000 new trees were planted, including 50 mature trees that had been donated by a prominent Cape Town businesswoman, which were planted outside Athlone Stadium.
A local NGO, Abalimi Bezekhaya (Xhosa for ‘Planters of Home’), planted 100 indigenous trees at Philippi Stadium, one of the official training venues, to commemorate the number of days before the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa.
Images from the "Making Connections" soccer and environment educational poster were used to decorate concrete bus shelters in the vicinity of Athlone Stadium.
The city beautification programme offered communities the opportunity to be involved in preparing the city to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Four community beautification and clean-up campaigns with the youth and community members, facilitated by local NGOs, not only benefited the environment, but also created a sense of anticipation and ownership of the World Cup event.
Lessons learned on city beautification and the tree-planting campaign
The scoping of the 2010 beautification project highlighted the opportunity for legacy investment in the city’s open spaces and visible infrastructure. The city beautification work stream was one of the largest 2010 work streams, involving a host of City departments, role players from Province, and other stakeholders. The work stream members accepted the challenge of city beautification with enthusiasm, excited to be part of the process to prepare the city to host the World Cup event. The support provided by a Dutch international intern to scope the extent of the 2010 city beautification programme was invaluable. The site visits and mapping formed part of the intern’s final-year thesis to qualify for a degree in Engineering and Urban Design.
The fact that landscaping formed part of almost all of the infrastructure upgrade contracts issued before the World Cup resulted in dozens of newly landscaped areas, also in previously disadvantaged areas.
Although the tree-planting campaign did not materialise as had been intended, the project initiated through the city beautification programme resulted in a significant number of new trees planted in Cape Town – a city mostly devoid of mature trees due to the climate and high water table in many areas.
Key references for landscaping and biodiversity
- City of Cape Town. January 2009. Announcement of Mouille Point promenade student design competition.
- City of Cape Town. April 2008. Submissions received from Cape Peninsula University of Technology and University of Cape Town students for the landscape design competition for Mouille Point beachfront and promenade.
- City of Cape Town. August 2009. Draft 2010 City Beautification Plan.
- FIFA. November 2008. City Beautification Guideline.
- OVP Landscape Architects. August 2009. Detailed design of Green Point Park.
- Ozinsky, S., Ackermann, K. and Lamb, S. January 2009. Green Point Park and ECO Centre Business Plan. Cape Town, South Africa. Commissioned by City of Cape Town.