A group of Observatory residents are on a mission to get the derelict Arnold dog park back to its former glory.
Resident Abraham Olivier says the park was in disarray and in February a group of concerned residents came together with the intention of fixing it.
He says the group exchanged phone numbers and in March the Figs and Grass WhatsApp group was started.
“We set up a WhatsApp group to get the park into a better shape as it was a sandy mess with lots of grass that died off in the drought, and in the winter water was a problem.”
He explains that there was a massive amount of sand blown by the wind or washed into the street by rain run-off. He says to curb the water and sand erosion from spreading they started off planting figs around the edge of the park.
He explains that they wrote a letter to city council hoping to get a donation for grass and also informed council that several sprinklers in the park were not functional.
“Council helped us and we were able to get some grass back into the park. We didn’t want to push up the water use in the park, so residents pitched up with 5 l water bottles. Council informed us that there was a well point in the park; we dug it up and found water.”
He says with the help of some donors they managed to start some of the renovations.
“We told ourselves we will work with council but will start grassing the park ourselves. We received compost and grass donations from Stark Ayres Garden Centre only because our community was so involved.”
Olivier says a few months since they started their project, they are making good progress.
“We’re actively doing soil rehabilitation and setting up better water drainage to help with soil erosion. We favour planting indigenous plants in our park. After the first grass is planted in September we plan to update the murals with local artists’ works.”
He explains that their main aim is to have a communal park where everyone can leave their own unique stamp with ongoing projects.
“We brought in a bird feeder, and it is interesting to see how bird life suddenly entered the park. We are collecting glass and porcelain bits found in the park as our park had a house that stood there once and some say it was also a dump at some point. These bits we’re planning to use in art mosaic projects in the park.”
Olivier says they are grateful to all the donors who pitched in.
“We had fantastic donations from the community members including Max Breitensteiner, Leslie and Phyllis London and many others.”
According to Olivier they have several plans for the future.
“We also want to have some future sessions on animal training awareness and even indigenous plant awareness. Our dogpark also features a dog memorial plaque system of the dogs that were once in the park. We would like to network with other parks and learn from one another.”
He says residents are welcome to become involved.
“Send me a WhatApp if you want to get involved and I’ll be happy to add you to the group. We also have an upcoming instagram page at Arnoldstreet.dogpark.figsgrass.”
- To get involved contact Abraham on 083 556 7014.
