Lavender Hill veldjie gets a green makeover

Lavender Hill residents got down and dirty when they transformed a veldjie used by gangsters as a battlefield into a community garden to help feed sukkeling families.

The project, undertaken by Mark Nicholson of the Lavender Hill Sports and Recreation Foundation, saw parents and children planting the first seeds on a veldjie in Blode Street last week.

Mark says after months of running a feeding scheme which feeds up to 300 people a day, they started growing their own veggies to provide food security for struggling households.

“As we rely on donations to keep it going, we decided to take a look at the patches on the pavements which are used for dumping,” he says.

“We cleaned up the area and started with smaller gardens on these patches.

“We received good feedback from the community as the pavements look better and there is a source of food.”

Mark says they partnered with Lindsay Cessford who helped them compile an application to the Department of Agriculture for gardening equipment to expand their project.

“On Wednesday the items arrived and we were so excited. The departments gave us gardening tools, compost, seeds and a variety of things for us to officially start with the main garden in Blode Street.”

He also hosted a workshop for children teaching them the importance of food sustainability and how to start their own gardens at home.

“Everyone came out to help and we are so excited that in about two months our garden will be in full bloom.

We are trying to encourage the community to participate in this so we can help grow this garden.

“This way we can teach our parents about food security and ensure that our children are getting healthy meals everyday.”

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