LINBROPARK NATURE RESERVE For the last 30 years and more a rubbish dump as a neighbour has subjected us to a great deal of annoyance from noise, smell and dust. This dump has been closed for about 10 years and still not been rehabilitated by PIKITUP and the Johannesburg Metro. It is about 144 hectare in extent so not quite large enough for a pukker game conservancy but big enough if supplemental feeding is provided. As a move to take the initiative for its rehabilitation and conversion from a liability to an asset, I have proposed that the Linbro Park Dump-site be converted into a private nature reserve as a public amenity for education and recreation. There is probably room on the Southern side for a 140 room hotel on virgin ground. The views of Johannesburg and surrounds are a spectacular 360 degrees, with the Voortrekker Monument visible on a clear day. Methane escape is at fairly low proportions after its closure going on 10 years. Pikitup are monitoring this with the aid of a company “Tailor-made Solutions” who we observed taking samples today After a tour of the site last week, officials from Pikitup have expressed enthusiasm and so has Councillor Darren Bergman for the project. In the interim, Pikitup are going to do a clean-up including the construction of a ring road and the removal of alien and exotic trees. We are also working to source decent friable soil to improve the cover on the site – quite a bit is available from construction sites in Linbro Park proper. Hence my making contact with Liviero Civils, Improvon, Heartlands, Intaprop, Abbeydale. As a member of Operation Wildflower, I am hoping we will be able access indigenous rescued plants at a modest cost from this source. City Parks have also expressed interest to support this initiative. Johannesburg Water advise that our utilisation of the water from existing boreholes for irrigation will help reduce the toxicity of the ground water. I have also spoken to members of the Private Game-owners Association who believe we will be able to obtain donations of antelope, buck and other fauna to populate the Reserve from its members. The Linbro Park Nature Reserve will justify and merit support from instances such as Freeme, EWT and the NSPCA, I hope. The sine qua non would be the security of the site. Once we progress a little further in basic planning, I have been told that funding for this infrastructure would be forthcoming from several sources such as DTI, Development Bank, financial institutions. The End-Use Document from 2007 envisaged a website but this has not yet been implemented. This I can do quite easily and I have also created a discussion group linbropark-nature-reserve@googlegroups to which you can address your replies to this email. If you have not received an invitation to this group as yet, please contact me. Please also be so kind as to suggest other persons who you think are important to be “in the loop” on this project. From Monday, 14th October 2013, I am available to host a viewing of the site. Please contact me as to when you are available to do so. In the meanwhile, I hope the idea of a Linbropark Nature Reserve “grabs” you and we look forward to your comments. If for any reason you are unable to post to linbropark-nature-reserve@googlegroups direct initially, please send your post to me and I will post on your behalf, and see that you are correctly enrolled in the Linbropark Nature Reserve Members’ list.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 18:27:13 +0000
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