Bullies aren’t always bad, at least not in the case of a recent event held by The Friends of Elizabeth Park.
The organisation’s get-together in the park on 18 November had a bit of everything – a social event for owners of “bully dogs” (like boerboels), a food drive and a clean-up event.
Residents, park fans and dog-lovers cleaned up around 250 kg of soiled materials (clothing, blankets, mattresses and other fabrics) as well as litter from the river and surrounds, according to Candice Mostert, founder and director of Waste-Ed, an environmental organisation that was also involved in the day’s events.
“Better.bellville.together came to facilitate the unique community clean-up, where waste is separated and tracked for data capture to help us further understand the challenges the park faces with regard to water and waste contamination to the local Elsieskraal River and the ecosystem surrounding it.”
The event also collected 20 bags of food in the can drive where donations went to The Mes Safe Space.
“The dog social (held by the SA Bully Dog and The Dog House Kennels) helped us increase safe behaviour in the park and shared dog-care education with the community.”
Noorudeen Roman, chair of the Friends of Elizabeth Park, said they want all people to get involved in the park’s initiatives.
“We want to understand current data and contribute to programmes that can preserve the environment and improve the social behaviour associated with the park.”
The group works to rehabilitate, enhance and conserve the heritage park. Restoration and conservation of the natural space is at the heart of what they do as well as working closely with the community that engage with the park.
