This 14 hectare property, situated in the town of Prieska (Northern Cape), was a derelict and ownerless Asbestos loading site. Certain areas of the site became polluted with asbestos due to milling and loading on railway trucks. The site required rehabilitation as it was earmarked for development as an urban green space in the town of Prieska.
Earthworks
The main purpose of the earthworks was to encapsulate the asbestos pollution on site with a layer of rock and soil material. The earthworks consisted of:
- Site clearing and preparation
- Importing of clean rock material from borrow pit and compacting
- Importing of clean soil material from borrow pit and compacting
- Grading of water control structures and drainage berms
- Rehabilitation and reshaping of borrow pits
- Levelling and preparing of site for irrigation, paving and re-vegetation
Irrigation System
- Submerged irrigation system
- Fully automated pop up irrigation
Paved Pathways
- Clay brick pavers laid with a herring bone shape
- Pedestrian footpaths over site totaling an area of 2160 m²
Permanent Fencing
- Erected post and rail fence around the perimeter of the site
- Total fencing distance 1430m
Soil Amelioration, Re-vegetation and Landscaping
- Importing and spreading of fertilisers and ameliorants over the site
- Sewing grass seeds over 14 hectare area –
- For central recreational area: Kikuyu grass seed
- Indigenous seeds for outer park areas: Rhodes grass; Smuts finger grass; Eragrostis curvula; Tall fescue grass (all indigenous to the Northern Cape)
- Continuous irrigation of newly seeded area
- Planting of indigenous trees – eg. Wild Olive; Wit Karee
- Planting aloes, succulents and Karoo shrubs over site – eg. Aloe striata; Aloe claviflora
- Landscaping of gardens and rock features
- Installation of park benches near central recreational area
