Around 200 participants are restoring a 2.18-hectare greenbelt in Brackenham, linking the removal of invasive alien plants and illegal waste with employment and skills development.
The environmental intervention follows concerns raised directly by residents during a community engagement in May about overgrown vegetation, invasive species, illegal dumping and safety in the area.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said the initiative is intended to go beyond a once-off clean-up by restoring the degraded urban natural area and establishing a longer-term approach to maintaining it.
Participants are clearing priority invasive species including Triffid weed, Lantana, Syringa, Castor Oil bush and Yellow bells, while removing dumped waste and improving accessibility through the greenbelt.
The initiative brings together national, provincial and local government, Expanded Public Works Programme and Community Work Programme participants, industry, environmental organisations, schools and residents.
Employment is a significant part of the approach.
Through environmental programmes such as Working for Water and Working for the Coast, restoration work is being used to provide employment and practical experience while addressing invasive species and environmental degradation.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the In-house Model Youth Graduates Project provided work for 51 graduates in uMfolozi and uMlalazi during 2025/26, increasing to 56 participants for 2026/27.
Working for Water is expected to provide employment to 120 participants from Mthonjaneni during 2026/27 as they clear invasive alien plants.
Working for the Coast will meanwhile engage 29 participants from uMfolozi, 28 from uMlalazi and 40 from the City of uMhlathuze in coastal waste removal.
The Department said these interventions demonstrate how environmental restoration can simultaneously contribute to employment, skills development and healthier communities.
“Every one of those numbers is a person, youth looking for work, woman providing for the household, person taking a first step in the job market. Our EPWP participants are partners, not statistics.”
The Brackenham intervention also has a strong community-education component, with residents being encouraged to understand how invasive alien plants affect biodiversity and water resources and how to identify and report environmental problems.
Schools, households, companies and community organisations are being encouraged to take greater responsibility for maintaining their surrounding environment.
The long-term success of the intervention will therefore not be determined by how the greenbelt looks immediately after the clearing.
“The true test for this hackathon is not the appearance of this greenbelt after today but three months from now. If plants return, if dumping continues and the greenbelt turns overgrown again, we will have solved the symptom but not the problem.”
The City of uMhlathuze and its partners are expected to support follow-up site inspections, planned clearing, monitoring of regrowth and new invasive species, waste removal and reporting mechanisms.
The initiative is also supported by private-sector partners including Foskor, Richards Bay Coal Terminal, South32, Mondi, GIZ, Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone, Mpact and Transnet.
Their participation reflects the significant industrial and commercial activity around Richards Bay and the need for environmental challenges in the area to be addressed collaboratively.
Invasive alien vegetation poses a wider ecological threat because it can displace indigenous species, damage habitats and ecosystems and place additional pressure on water resources.
The Department’s Working for Water programme is expected to clear 159,878 hectares nationally during 2026/27 while supporting community participation and efforts to address biological invasions.
For Brackenham residents, however, the immediate impact is much closer to home: reclaiming a green space that had become affected by invasive vegetation, dumping and safety concerns.
Young participants were also encouraged to see the intervention as more than a clean-up exercise, with environmental work increasingly providing opportunities for skills development, workplace experience and participation in the green economy.
“Cleaner environment and skilled workers are two sides of the sustainable future.”
The Department said the lesson from Brackenham extends beyond the 2.18 hectares being restored.
It demonstrates how community concerns can lead to environmental action while connecting ecological restoration with employment, skills development and greater responsibility for maintaining shared public spaces.
The challenge now will be ensuring that the work continues after the tools are packed away.
