Community in action: Creating cleaner streets in Greenwood Park - IOL

Brandon Taksing, Andrew Akkers, Danusha Makan-Maharaj, Farrah Shaik and Rajen Padyachee seen during this weekend’s cleanup.

At a time when communities across the metro continue to voice frustration over declining service delivery, residents in Greenwood Park are taking matters into their own hands to keep their neighborhood clean and safe.

Rather than waiting for intervention, local volunteers have launched a hands-on initiative that has gained rapid momentum over the past month, with neighbours giving up 30 minutes every Saturday to collect rubbish and restore pride in their surroundings.

Known as Pick and Pick, residents gather every Saturday from 4pm to 4:30pm at the Mimosa Road entrance near the local community garden.

The spot is one of Greenwood Park's busiest pedestrian hubs, where a main road and three schools converge. With heavy foot traffic from commuting learners and local street vendors, litter has become an ongoing challenge.

“Our community garden, planted a little over three years ago, has become a source of local pride, but it has become a catchment area for rubbish blown in by the wind,” explained founder Farrah Shaik.

“A few weeks ago, after particularly strong winds left the entrance heavily littered, my husband, Radlin Abbott, and I were horrified that our beautiful garden was covered in dirt. We grabbed our gloves and bin bags, and within half an hour, the area had been transformed.”

That quick effort officially birthed the initiative. The name reflects the ongoing reality of neighbourhood maintenance.

“The philosophy is simple: we pick and pick again, until caring for our environment becomes part of our everyday culture,” Shaik said.

One of the project's most encouraging outcomes has been seeing residents start their own clean-up efforts closer to home. Every Monday morning before municipal refuse collection, volunteers clean Allenby Road, while the Greenwood Park Walking Club has stepped up to clear the Havelock Road Sports Field and surrounding area.

“The concept is straightforward. If every resident takes responsibility for a small section of their neighbourhood, the collective impact can be significant,” said Abbott. “It does not require hours of work or major resources—only 30 minutes, a pair of gloves, a refuse bag, and the willingness to make a difference.”

Beyond aesthetics, the gatherings double as an opportunity for neighbours to connect, meet new people, and enjoy a conversation while working together.

“A clean community is about more than appearance,” Shaik added. “Clean, well-maintained public spaces contribute to a safer environment, while communities that take pride in themselves become places where people want to live, work, and invest.”

Greenwood Park has a proud history of community action, having previously hosted major clean-up drives involving up to 300 residents. However, organisers note that large events often hit setbacks when refuse bags placed out early are torn open by dogs and monkeys.

Rather than relying solely on occasional large-scale events, Pick and Pick focuses on smaller, consistent weekly efforts. Organisers say this requires a mindset shift—accepting that keeping an area clean is an ongoing process rather than a one-off task.

To prevent post-clean-up clutter, residents are urged to take their bags directly to the dump or store them at home until collection day, rather than leaving them on verges.

For now, the group will continue meeting every Saturday on Mimosa Road, with the long-term hope that residents throughout Greenwood Park will start Pick and Picking in every corner of the neighbourhood.