South African Parks are established in residential areas to create a favourable environment; an environment where the community can safely relax and where children can establish healthy living through play. This is obtained through children’s play areas and other recreation facilities such as
Sport facilities Walking trails Community farming projects
Heritage & historical significance Family related activities
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) has entered into a strategic partnership arrangement with Crebus (Pty) Ltd. One of the exciting projects is the ‘Business-Adopt-a-Park’ partnership programme. JCPZ and Crebus would like to extend this invitation to the Business community to actively play a role and participate in this JCPZ ‘Business-Adopt-a-Park’ initiative.
Key objectives of the programme: To proactively create a platform which actively pursues the consideration of innovative ideas that will lead to improved safety and more regular use of targeted open spaces and parks by local communities. To extend Community-Private sector partnership arrangements / models through preservation and enhancement of Parks and Public open spaces. To actively engage local business community in the assumed ownership and improvement of local Parks and Public open spaces.
The biggest immediate threat to parks is the opportunistic invasion of a criminal element committing heinous crime within the parks and escaping with little, to sometimes no, identification. This was recently experienced with the Rhodes Park incident involving two couples, who whilst walking leisurely in Rhodes Park were accosted by a gang of 12 in the late evening, bound, thrown in the dam and where they consequently drowned. These crimes include: murder, rape, assault, drugs, prostitution, gangs and illegal waste dumping.
Safety and security for people visiting and/or passing through the City’s parks and recreation facilities and for those enrolled in recreation programmes are very important factors in public satisfaction and participation. People will not visit parks and/or recreation facilities or participate in programmes if they do not feel safe.
The physical characteristics which park users associate with high-risk environments include: Poor lighting Confusing layout Physical and aural isolation Poor visibility No access to help Areas of concealment Poor maintenance Vandalism Presence of “undesirables”
The essence of the “eyes on the street” approach is to increase the opportunities for informal surveillance and reduce the number of isolated places where crime can take place unseen. Safety is a primary consideration along main routes through parks and between the park perimeter and the street. Lighting
alone is not the solution to safety-related issues – external lighting in parks will be installed to work with other security equipment such as CCTV systems.
Taking the above into account, the JCPZ/Crebus Steering Committee for ‘Business-Adopt-a-Park’ has identified 85 parks that are in need of immediate security measures. We hereby invite Businesses to support the first 85 projects with immediate funding for the necessary installation of lighting solutions and security cameras. Surveys have been done of these 85 parks where solar and other cloud solutions with tamper proof technology will be used. It is of cardinal importance that the installations of the security measures be done timeously and with donations support from Businesses, the security of these parks can be greatly improved.
The following list indicates some of the initiatives that this programme will focus on / provide opportunities for participation in: Safer Parks Contributions to implementation of various initiatives that will improve safety management in Parks
Recreational facilities improvement Initiatives that will bring about improvements and/or installation of targeted recreational facilities inside the parks, informed by vetting outcomes
Corporate functions Active and targeted use of Parks and Public open spaces by Corporates for various functions
Park Design improvements Initiatives that will bring about design improvement considerations, in order to improve regular use and safety of the parks
Regular ‘Plant-a-tree’ programmes linked to local communities and businesses
Healthy lifestyle programmes Programmes aimed encouraging active participation in healthy lifestyle activities and programmes like walking trails, regular fun run/walks, exercise boot-camps, aerobics competitions etc.
What is in it for you?
JCPZ guidelines on Park sponsorship acknowledgement allow for the acknowledgement of Sponsors / Partners in each of the supported / adopted parks, through prominent display of all the Sponsors / Partners and/or Contributors to the adopted park at the specific Park supported / adopted.
The following mixed-value proposition for the Partners / Sponsors is available and worth consideration: Acknowledgement of the sponsorship/ adoption contribution is offered to the Sponsor / Partner by way either or a combination of the following options: Sponsor / Partner branding on the Park information board/s within the perimeter of the sponsored/adopted Park. Branding opportunity for the Sponsor / Partner on the local Park application (app), in and around the sponsored/adopted Park. Branding opportunity on sponsored rubber mats (normally found around the outdoor gym equipment). Branding (up to A5 in size) on sponsored Park furniture. JCPZ Sponsor / Partner Acknowledgement Certificate offered by the JCPZ through a formal Acknowledgement Ceremony of the ‘Business-Adopt-A-Park’ Sponsors / Partners. Resultant positive public relations in the community. The donation is tax deductible and can form part of the Company’s Corporate Social Investment projects. Your donation will play an active part of minimising crime and giving back to the community.
Business-Adopt-a-Park Fund
A dedicated Escrow Trust Account has been created with an independent Attorney, which is jointly managed by JCPZ and Crebus. All money donated toward the programme is paid directly into this account and used on the specified projects as per pre-approved budgets. Detailed accounts and reports are sent to donors to keep donors informed on the spending of their money.
For further information on how you can make a difference kindly contact Crebus at business-adopt-apark@crebus.co.za or on Cellphone number 064 756 2736.
