The Department of Zoology contributed 67 minutes of their time to cleaning litter out of the Padda Dam below the UJ Sports Stadium. The aim of the project was to remove the litter that was stuck in the vegetation, deposited there through the input of storm water runoff. Staff and students armed with gloves and black bags jumped into boats and collected take away containers, plastic bottles, chip packets and plastic bags from the periphery of the dam. Some interesting finds were a car tyre, numerous tennis balls, a plastic chair and a damaged boogie board with a tree growing out of it. The litter was then placed in bags and taken to the UJ recycling facility on the Kingsway campus.
The Department was happy to have been involved in cleaning the dam and doing a little bit towards cleaning our immediate urban environment. Staff and students were treated to a warm cup of soup and donations were collected in an effort to raise money to buy books for the Faculties Mandela Day initiative to help the Eldorado Park Primary School establish a library for its young learners.
A word of thanks goes out to all Dr Richard Greenfield and Kelly Dyamond who facilitated this venture and made the day a success