Continued maintenance, upkeep and improvement of green open spaces promotes the use of green spaces and thus improves community well-being.
What’s the story?
The Envirofund was introduced in 2007 to enable the LRA Estate Team to maintain and also improve our environment. The LRA receives no funding from City Council and has to rely on donations from local residents to enable them to cut more than 440 000m² of grass, trim trees, maintain the parks, koppie and dams, pick up litter and generally keep our suburb neat and tidy. This is a never-ending job.
The LRA employs an estate manager and a committed team of 10 gardeners who are passionate about our environment. The LRA has its own App which can be downloaded for free on either Google Play or your App Store. Service delivery queries and faults can be reported directly to the relevant authorities via the App.
Core Objectives:
Improvement of Green Open Spaces
Maintenance of Green Open Spaces
Invasive Vegetation Control
Secondary Objectives:
Litter Pick-up
Illegal Sign Removal
Whenever Possible:
Street Sweeping
Municipality Engagement on Large Scale Issues
Municipal Engagement on Unresolved Requests
Development and a growing urban population put pressure on urban green spaces and our city resources. The Envirofund aims to continue maintenance of green open spaces on a level that is desirable and ensures the community continuous use of safe and clean spaces to enjoy. In addition, the Envirofund continually works towards improving the resilience and sustainability of the green spaces by addressing critical issues such as erosion, water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem services through an aesthetic, unobtrusive and environmentally-friendly approach.
Our planned projects include:
Short Term:
Removal of priority alien invasive plants
Improvement of secondary parks
Development of new park areas
Medium Term:
Alien invasive plant control
Continuous improvement of green infrastructure
Erosion control along streams
Improvement of river front for recreational and wildlife use
Long Term:
Lonehill and Lappies Park wetland rehabilitation
Re-establish Lappies Park dam
Road verge improvements (erosion control, paving, beautification)
Solar lights in parks
Completed projects:
Recreational Parks (Lonehill Park)
Two solar lights beaming down on freshly mowed lawns and paved walkways improving night-time park security patrols. The menacing Kariba weed is continually removed, along with milfoil and algae to prevent complete cover of water surface. A water meter has been installed to monitor water quality in the Lonehill Dam. Enjoy your walk through the park with two of the most utilised pathways in the park got paved late 2017.
Major Sidewalks and Verges
After no less than 600 man-days, we are proud to report 10 new flowerbeds spread between Lonehill Boulevard and Crestwood Drive, Main Road and Capricorn Drive and at the same time, a very welcome paved walkway from Main Road to Concourse Crescent was installed. Full bin bags were tied up and replaced litter scattered litter picked up throughout the suburb– in total using 500 bags per month in an effort to keep Lonehill and Beverly in tip-top shape for all to enjoy.
Enclosed Koppie
Pack yourselves a picnic and take advantage of our newly sanded, painted and treated benches while admiring the surroundings of an all-round much, much cleaner Koppie as well as some new wildlife visitors attracted by an improved ecosystem.
Jukskei River Front
The planting of indigenous trees has created shade for recreational use, as well as food and shelter for biodiversity. Much of the bush has been cut back and cleared along private property boundaries for better security and to reduce the risk of fire.
Stormwater and other Servitudes
We have identified an abundant animal population that includes porcupines, a dwarf mongoose, a likkewaan and sparrows.
It will be one of our goals to acknowledge and promote significant stormwater servitudes that serve biodiversity corridors as conservation/biodiversity zones especially for the survival of wildlife and enjoyment those who enjoy a more rustic time out in nature filled with bird calls and grasses rustling in the wind.
Why we do what we do:
Well-maintained green spaces improve safety within the community.
Well-maintained green spaces contribute positively to property investments and value.
We depend on ecosystem services for our very survival – looking after and improving the health of our environment is to be looking after ourselves and those who come after us.
Sign Up Now
Please Download Envirofund Membership Form
