The City of Johannesburg has a range of environmental
best practice projects that will be showcased during the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD). These projects have been selected
on the premise that they underpin the core principles of Agenda 21
having strong linkages to policy, demonstration of best practice, and
raising the level of public awareness with respect to sustainable development.
For ease of referencing these projects have been subdivided into Mayoral
Projects, Partnerships, and the City's sister enterprises (Utilities,
Agencies & Corporatised Entities - UAC's). The projects are geographically
spread throughout the Southern, City Centre, and Northern regions of
Johannesburg.
Soweto
Greening Tours - Developmental Projects
This tour departs from the Newtown Precinct in the City Centre for a full day
visit to environmental best practice projects located in Soweto. The first stop
will be at the Johannesburg Water - Olifantsvlei Composting Facility (UAC) where
the demonstration of a scale model illustrating the innovative technology being
used to convert sewerage into patented compost product known as JOWGRO.
The next stop will be at the Kliptown Mayoral Project - the 100-year old urban
settlement in Johannesburg where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. A brief
presentation on the Environmental Management Framework for the Klipspruit River
will be given, a video will be screened, and visitors will be able to engage
with an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) computer based tool.
Thereafter a visit will be paid to the Soweto Mountain of Hope based in Chaiwelo.
The Soweto Mountain of Hope is a community driven project that incorporates sustainable
development. The project is internationally acclaimed and also receives donor
funding from abroad.
Lunch will be served at the Soweto Civic Centre in Region 6 - Soweto, whereafter
a presentation on the Rockville/Moroka Dam Mayoral Project will be presented.
A brief video of the dam will be screened, and a Virtual Reality Computer Model
will provide the look and feel of the project. Visitors will then also be afforded
the opportunity of having a guided tour of the dam.
The final leg of the tour will then end off at the Pikitup - Dobsonville Buy
Back Centre (UAC). This project is a recycling centre where the community can
bring waste materials such as paper, glass and plastics for recycling. And in
return they are paid a nominal fee. These buy back centers encourages communities
to become more aware of recycling and is coupled to environmental awareness.
Visitors will then return to the Newtown Precinct travelling along Main Reef
Road.
Departure: Daily at 10h00 from the Newtown Precinct
Return: By 16h00 to Newtown
Period: 26 August to 06 September 2002
Duration: 5 ½
Tour Includes: Return bus journey, booking fees to the best
practice projects and all amenities. There will be no fees required for most
of the activities.
Tour Excludes: Any refreshments or lunch and personal items.
Lunch will be served at a cost of R40-00 per head.
Gross Cost: ZAR30-00
Inner
City Greening Development Projects
The Inner City best practice projects comprise the Green House Project
and further North the Zoo Bioremediation Project. The Green House
Tour will be linked to the City's Shopping Experience and visit to
the Joubert Park Art Gallery. Visitors will be escorted across the
road from the Art Gallery and given the opportunity to witness sustainable
housing best practice within the inner city. An environmental resource
centre is planned and will become operational soon. The presence
of hothouses and sustainable utilisation of resources elevates the
urban greening agenda.
Departure: Daily at 10h00, where a shuttle leaves every 15min
leaving for the Johannesburg Arts Gallery where visitors would be escorted
to the Green House Project.
Scheduled times: 11h00; 13h00 and 15h00
Period: 26 August to 06 September 2002
Duration: 1 hour
Tour Includes: Return bus journey, booking fees to the best practice
projects and all amenities. There will be no fees required for most of the
activities.
Tour Excludes: Any refreshments or lunch and personal items. However,
light snacks and soft drinks can be purchased on site.
Gross Cost: Shopping Experience Hop on Hop off Bus Shuttle
Northern
Greening Development Projects
This day tour departs from the Newtown Precinct and visits the Delta
Environmental Centre on a Tuesday and Thursday for the duration of
the best practice tours. Delta Environmental Centre (DEC) offers
environmental education programmes to school children, teachers and
the general public on a daily basis. A Council-owned Sewage Works,
built in 1934, has been transformed into a vibrant, future-focused
environmental education centre. Areas in the surrounding Delta Park
have been developed to enhance visitors' experiences e.g. the Water
Wise Sensory Garden, SASOL Sensory Trail, the Recycling Area, the
Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary (under development) and the Orienteering
Course. The Working for Water Project Team will be removing invasive
plants, in phases, in Delta Park in the near future. Ten species
of raptor have already been spotted in Delta Park since January 2002.
The Johannesburg Zoo has an innovative natural water treatment system,
which purifies contaminated water before being released into the river.
There are two channels that enter the Zoo grounds on its South side,
next to the Zoo's nursery. The zoo discharges water from the hippo,
seal & polar bear pools. The faecal coliform count for the south
channel was 75000 per 100ml sample on 19 March 2002. To eliminate the
pollution of Zoo Lake, the water passes through the Zoo's wetland purification
system. The water is then pumped into a huge settlement tank with an
overflow channel built in. The Johannesburg Zoo has requested City
Council to test the quality of the water running through the Zoo in
the channel at these three critical points on a monthly basis, so that
effective water management of the entire water purification system
occurs. The water is treated again on the Zoo Lake end once it is discharged
from the Zoo grounds. This downstream water treatment project is driven
by the Parktown community who is committed to improving the overall
quality of the water in the upper reaches of the Jukskei River. The
Zoo will provide a brief overview of how this water treatment system
works.
The tour will then proceed to Kelland Bird Sanctuary where a brief
guided tour of the wetland and bird sanctuary will be offered.
The next stop will be at the Alex Renewal Project, which is a presidential
project funded by the Provincial Government through Blue IQ. On route
visitors will be able to experience the vibe of Alex and be able to
view conditions along the Jukskei River banks. Alex is the poorest
area per square kilometer bordering the richest area (Sandton) per
square kilometer. Here the Altrek Stadium will be visited where a large-scale
model will be demonstrated showing detailed planning interventions
to ameliorate the extensive environmental challenges being confronted
by the impoverished area. Visitors will stop over for lunch at the
local shebeen in Alex to enjoy a meal.
Thereafter, the tour will proceed to the Johannesburg Ecocity Initiative.
The project is located in Ivory Park, a newly established area on the
edge of Johannesburg.
Visitors will then return to the Newtown Precinct travelling along
the M1 South.
Departure: Daily at 10h00 from the Newtown Precinct
Return: By 17h30 at Newtown
Period: 26 August to 06 September 2002
Duration: 5 ½ hours
Tour Includes: Return bus journey, booking fees to the best
practice projects and all amenities. There will be no fees required for most
of the activities.
Tour Excludes: Any refreshments or lunch and personal items.
Lunch will be served at a cost of no less than R40-00 per head. Daily visits
to Delta Centre, these will be restricted to Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the
duration of the period.
The visits to the Zoo will take place by way of boarding the scheduled
Metro Bus, which will leave Newtown on a daily basis according to the
normal bus roster.
.
Gross Cost: ZAR30-00
Our partners:
Government
Initiatives