Willem Snyman is cleaning the Hennops River and his community is rallying behind him and the cause by joining in the massive clean up.
Willem Snyman has been praised for his dedication to cleaning up the Hennops River in Centurion. He started by walking along the riverside to find exactly where the pollution was coming from and was horrified by what he found. From development sites to the nearby taxi rank, all those were contributing to build up of litter in the river.
Willem launched Fresh.ngo on Facebook as a way mobilised the community in helping him clean up the heavily polluted river. He also shares updates about the progress of the clean which is taking place over a number of weeks.
“A huge thanks to everyone who came to the Riverview nature area to help the Hennops today! The turnout was unprecedented and it looked like there were more than a hundred volunteers, removing plastics that filled up over two hundred rubbish bags.
The area around the old bridge was cleaned of most plastics and debris that had piled up here and stuck in the trees, improving the river flow. This is probably the cleanest this area has been in years.
The drive and level of self-motivation in the volunteers was amazing to see, everyone just climbing into their chosen area and cleaning it. A beautiful sight to see so many volunteers swarming over a large area and setting things right again.”
They also planted 23 trees along with medicinal bulbs around the bases of the trees. Willem discussed how they plan to continue cleaning up the river.
“We’re busy reclaiming the neglected and forgotten Riverview to re-establish it again as the green heart of Centurion – a central place to make a stand for the restoration of the Hennops. The action here needs to be ongoing and can become monthly events.
Already we’re planning the next steps, making a waterfall pool in the clean wetland stream where one could even swim and where animal life can be brought back to eventually repopulate the creatures that have been wiped out in the Hennops, to replant and restore this fountain wetland.”
There will also be a litter net to catch and prevent rubbish from ending up further down the river. Willem is incredibly thankful to all those that have joined his project.
“Congratulations to everyone on a job well done, the spirit of light and positive action is driving away the chaos of pollution, to bring the harmony of nature back in our lives and extend out along the waterways so that we can breathe free again, thanks a lot.”
You can join in the cleanup efforts by visiting the Fresh.Ngo Facebook page here. Take a look at some of the cleanup images below.
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Fantastic! This is what makes SA great.
Wonderful initiative