Students use classroom skills to revitalize a community park

Hatfield, Pretoria – Gauteng

Source material originally published: October 25, 2019 and October 21, 2020

City parks are meant to be places to play, relax and enjoy a breath of fresh air. Over the years though the maintenance of parks has dropped off the priority list for many local councils. It’s been the case for the Hatfield Park that’s situated close to the University of Pretoria Hillcrest sports campus. In 2019 however, the university decided to clean, fix and restore the park as part as a real-life learning and teaching project for its students. The university also negotiated with the Tshwane Metro council to became custodians of the park, ensuring an agreement with the local authorities that would allow them to oversee the project independently and to in so doing, ensure the park thrives as a long-term asset for the Pretoria community.   

What was the problem?

A neglected park, called Eastwood Square, near the entrance to the University of Pretoria’s Hillcrest Sports Campus had become an eyesore of overgrown vegetation, illegal dumping and broken and vandalised park equipment. The park had become unsafe and unpleasant to use. 

The Tshwane Municipality that owned the park had stopped taken responsibility for routine maintenance, cleaning, providing security or any equipment upgrades.  

Students and staff had to drive or walk past the park noting each time that the park was a blight on their environment and suburb and was also a missed opportunity in not being restored to be an additional functional green space in the heart of Pretoria. 

How did they solve the problem?

Professor Susan Adendorff, who was facilities management director in 2019, visited the park with colleagues and was struck by the multiple opportunities and benefits in the park could be revived. 

For Adendorff, the park could be taken on as one of the university’s community-based projects module within the faculty of engineering, built environment and information technology.   

Adendorff, quoted on the University’s website, said: “After we visited the neglected park, we realised that it was in a bad state … but we agreed that this is a community project on our doorstep.”

It became a student-driven project to clean, repair and maintain the park. Altus Bisschoff, a mechanical engineering student at the time was the first project manager of the initiative. Bisschoff, quoted on the website, said the team aimed for the park to be a “multi-functional, multi-generational” space, used from everyone from toddlers and families to school children, exercisers and pensioners. 

The university worked with the Tshwane metro for permissions and support and were eventually able to take ownership of the park. This happened through a smart land swap deal – the city’s park for a Hammanskraal property that the university owned at the time.

As owners of the renamed Hatfield Community Park the University of Pretoria has been able to have autonomy over its management and is able to make longer term plans for the park. Over the years this has included students building and installing outdoor gym and play equipment and designing enhanced offerings to grow the facility as an outdoor recreational hub. 

What makes the initiative work?

The University of Pretoria chose a park in a location on their doorstep at the entrance to the Hillcrest sports campus. Its high visibility keeps it top of mind.

The University made the project a hands-on aspect of a module in one of the faculty’s teaching programmes. This allows students to be directly involved and to be the drivers of the initiative. As part of the teaching module, the project is assured a continuous flow of students who act as volunteers and park champions each year. 

 Working with the City of Tshwane officials was key to establishing a good working relationship as the project first got off the ground. 

The university factored in long-term sustainability and did this by negotiating ownership of the park. They did this innovatively by securing a land-swap deal with the city. 

Get your community involved

Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.

Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.

How to start a WhatsApp group

How to start a residents' association

How to set up a community policing forum

How to set up a neighbourhood watch

How to organise community action

How to use media to create pressure for change

Know your rights – how local government works

It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.

Acknowledgements

Author: FixLocal Reporter

Original articles/ sources: 

UP students restore Hatfield Community Park UP students restore Hatfield Community Park

UP students bring life to neglected community park

Photograph: University of Pretoria