Westridge residents, children and seniors among them, spent two days cleaning their community.
Ashley Potts, councillor for Ward 81, which includes Westridge, said he had invited the community to join City officials, the mayor, Ward 81 staff, champions and volunteers on the two scheduled clean-ups on Wednesday September 14 and Saturday September 24.
The clean-ups formed part of Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s declared month of spring cleaning.
On Wednesday September 14 Westridge residents cleaned the field in Stable Close. Among those involved were nine-year-old Abdul Karriem, who said it was important for him to help.
“I really want to keep the space clean so that we can play here with our friends. We need to be safe and be able to play on this clean field.
Mr Potts said the children play sports such as soccer on the field. “While cleaning, we found beds, blankets and dirt. The solid waste department assisted in picking up the waste,” he said.
“Illegal dumping is a crime and we encourage people to keep their area clean. We encourage communities to clean their own area so that they can start doing this together in routine as a team and take ownership of their spaces. It may take a while for people to change their behaviour to not take part in illegal dumping, to name a few, but we look forward to the change,” Mr Potts said.
The department of Parks and Recreation gave some equipment to assist residents with cleaning on the day.
“It’s by doing these initiatives they will start to understand the importance of keeping a space clean as well as what comes with dumping. If our area is clean the behaviour will change.
“The youth and children are important for our communities, we’re taking ownership of the space to be a part of the process,” said Mr Potts.
Cathy’s Kitchen provided boerewors rolls for the volunteers, thanks to the Decision Affects Destinies (D.A.D) community leg of the project, said Mr Potts.
“We should show commitment to looking after our parks. There are a few groups who’ve cleaned their spaces before asking for equipment and this encourages me to want to get behind them to help grow the Clean Spaces initiative,” he said.
The plan is to set up four zones – green, yellow, blue and red – which will compete in the next financial term to showcase who has the best park and the community will nominate who is the best, he said. “We want green in our areas and lift the spirits of our people,” he said.
Resident Neville George, 75, from Westridge said he makes use of the space a lot. “I hope this encourages us to carry on doing it. The community is pleased to walk through a clean space, especially the park in my area,” he said.
Lindsay Adams, Women’s Care Champion for Ward 81 said the #SpringCleanCT initiative was “a brilliant one”.
“We need to do this more often. The residents in our section do their best. I’m excited to see us do our bit in this area,” she said.
Emmerentia Meyer, chairperson of Lariat Block Watch, Westridge said it was nice to see all the residents who had come out to support. “We urge all to come and join in these initiatives. Let’s take ownership of our spaces,” she said.
Ward 81 safety chamption Pastor Nigel Porter got his hands dirty and encouraged members of the safety structure as well as the faith-based community to get behind the ward councillor’s vision to green his ward.
The chairpersons of Merino Block Watch, Bonita Wood and Duneside Block Watch, Gail Brink, and their respective teams also supported the drive, reiterating that everyone must do their part to improve our surroundings.