Manenberg Spring Day leaves Red River Primary spick and span
02 September 2024
The City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor, Alderman Eddie Andrews, accompanied by Manenberg community representatives and volunteers this past Saturday, 31 August 2024, at Red River Primary carried out a Spring Day clean-up and planting event with learners. This community-driven initiative is part of the City’s Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme (MURP) aimed at fostering sustainable and integrated communities. The aim is to educate and mobilise learners to adopt sustainable environmental practices and preserve biodiversity.
Saturday's Spring Day clean-up at Red River Primary in Manenberg left the school grounds looking spick and span with a new vegetable garden and indigenous plants.
From as early as 10:00, learners, community representatives, River Wardens from the Edith Stephens Nature Reserve, together with Alderman Eddie Andrews rolled up their sleeves to clear the grounds outside the school and remove alien vegetation in and around the property.
'Through a partnership with the City's Urban Waste Management Directorate, learners were exposed to our MURP (Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme) initiative that aims to develop school gardens through planting aloes and other indigenous plants that will contribute to the preservation of the already thriving birdlife in these areas. This primary school's vegetable garden will be used by learners to grow their own produce for their food kitchen and also supply neighbouring destitute families,' said the City's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
The clean-up was followed by a talk on waste minimisation, and recycling and a waste management presentation by the City's Mascot, Bingo.
The practical sessions on planting and gardening were facilitated by the River Wardens Skills Development Programme from the Edith Stephens Nature Reserve.
Note to editor / Background:
Manenberg forms part of the MURP, which aims to nurture sustainable and integrated communities by addressing community issues and perceptions. The Programme is research-based and follows a clear participatory and rapid urban appraisal methodology in which residents, through community engagement and engagement with relevant sector departments, are given a high level of influence within the processes of community development in achieving the objectives and envisaged outcomes of the Integrated Development Plan, Municipal Spatial Development Framework, District Plans and local spatial development frameworks.
Following recent engagements at Red River Primary School, Alderman Andrews was informed that learners wanted their school grounds cleaned-up and looking beautiful. This is the impetus for this Spring Day Clean-Up project, which saw the school's grounds and the area around the school transformed, as local organisations, City Departments, residents, school management and learners coming together to learn, clean, plant and beautify their school and its surroundings.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
