We had our first meeting with council on Tuesday night 23rd May 2016, The royal we included Friends of Groenkloof Nature Reserve (FGNR), Management of Voortrekker Monument, Council including the Metro Police, SAPS of all affected branches and myself as the originator of our petition. The main purpose of the meeting was to plan the way forward and to give council the opportunity to report on what has been done to date. As a general comment I am pleased to report that the meeting had a very workmanlike feel to it and it certainly feels like the intention is to get things done. Specifically I can also say the council have done what they said they would within the time frames stated at our public meeting. The electric fences are now operational and the holes in other fences are being repaired on a continual basis. The most significant issue is the fact that for the first time that I can remember Metro Police are actively patrolling the reserve on a permanent basis. Last Sunday Metro Police had 3 vehicle patrols, 2 mounted police and 2 special ops active in Groenkloof. I was told that we can expect the same presence during the week as well. I am also pleased to report that on the morning of the meeting a joint operation led by SAPS, Hi Risk Unit and GIS security raided the area below Unisa where many attacks on Groenkloof, Voortrekker Monument and Klapperkop originate from. Six arrests were made and an illegal firearm was confiscated. It’s fantastic to see that SAPS are tackling the problem at source and to see the two security companies in support goes a long way to enhance their image in the communities they serve and I’m not sure that a simple thank you suffices here, nonetheless thank you! If the recent attacks in Klapperkop are anything to go by it is clear that the patrols in Groenkloof have been successful in displacing the criminal element into the surrounding reserves. It was agreed that our future safety plans need to consider the area as a whole. So a sub-committee was established to consider a combined safety plan for Voortrekker Monument, Freedom Park, Fountains, Groenkloof and Klapperkop, a meeting with the affected CPFs was required to kick this off. So as not to lose focus it was agreed that a short to medium term goal would be to claim back Fountains Reserve as this is in the heart of the problem area and once this is safe and we get to ride or run in it, it would create an effective buffer for the adjoining reserves, so watch this space. It is clear that council are committing serious resources to make the area safer and how sustainable this is would be would depend on the economic benefit derived from the area. As things stand there’s a de facto boycott of the reserve for good reason and the question posed as to when will Groenkloof be safe enough for us to use. The consensus was that we cannot say that Groenkloof is safe but we can say that thanks to the efforts of council it is safer. For this trend to continue we have to ensure the economic viability of the reserve and this can only be achieved by getting paying guests back into the reserve. Now I am personally quite hesitant to simply say let’s go back but I do believe that we should return but with some caution. So starting on Saturday the 4th June we are urging people to visit the reserve between 7:00 and 12:00am in groups of 4 or more for the safety in numbers principle to have effect. If you can get a group together on your own then it’s easy but we do recognise that this not always possible and we have to connect liked minded people. To do this you can create an event and share it FGNR Facebook page and include details of your group run, ride or hike, you can continue to use the page to coordinate but a WhatsApp group might work better. You will see my Group Ride on the page starting at 8:30 on the 4th; meeting outside the old kiosk; distance 18km, pace 13-15km/hr and difficulty of 3 out 5(the latter being the most technical); with a leave no man or woman behind principle. You are of course welcome to use whichever Facebook forum you prefer and just share on FGNR if you want to broaden your audience. The intention is to keep to larger groups at first until we are certain that Groenkloof is indeed safe enough for smaller groups or dare I say it individual activities. On a separate note we have become aware that the DA was intent on having a protest ride, hike or run on the 29th May 2016. The premise was that council had not fulfilled their promises which as you can see from the above would be incorrect. To be fair the DA were unaware of the outcome of our meeting and the work done by council, they have agreed to change their meeting to one of solidarity and support for the victims of crime in the area which is a worthy cause. To close I honestly believe that we as community have been effective in getting council to take the first steps so that we can take back our reserves. I guess we can now dare to dream.