The Wilds Municipal Nature Reserve, on the edge of downtown Johannesburg, was once considered one of the city’s no-go zones.
The Wilds have been revived. Image by Heather Mason
As the Jo’burg inner city deteriorated in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Wilds’ 40 acres of emerald-green forest also fell into decline: the once-neat stone pathways were hemmed in by underbrush, and the park became a hiding place for muggers seeking to pray on unsuspecting picnickers. This pristine indigenous wilderness, a public park for the past 80 years, was abandoned by the public.
Three years ago artist James Delaney, who lives just outside the Wilds, started walking his dog in the park and discovered that despite some overgrowth, the Wilds was still incredibly beautiful and virtually crime-free. James started pulling weeds and clearing dead branches, then recruited gardener Thulani Nkomo to work alongside him.
One of the aluminium owls. Image by Heather Mason
In 2017, with the blessing of the Jo’burg City Parks Department, James installed 67 aluminium owl sculptures in the Wilds to honor the late President Nelson Mandela. The owls peak out among the branches in a grove of yellowwood trees. Curious visitors cautiously trickled in as James built more sculptures – a red kudu, a pair of blue ostriches, two life-sized, pink-and-yellow giraffes. “[The sculptures] brought people back to the park, and by doing so have ensured The Wilds has passionate users who will assist in taking care of the space,” says James. “They’re also really striking to look at, creating destinations within the park”.
More and more visitors are discovering the Wilds. Image by Heather Mason
The Wilds now hosts regular volunteer clean-up events and gardening days. The park’s multitude of dilapidated wooden benches have been repaired and repainted in a riot of rainbow colours. And James and Thulani just received a prestigious award for sustainable architecture, honouring their efforts to revitalize a forgotten public space. The Wilds is alive again.
“A few years ago very few people used [the park]…Now hundreds of walkers visit it each week,” James says. “Also I’ve noticed people are starting to use it for their own interests – school community service groups, rock climbing, kids’ birthday parties, trail runners, artists, passionate plant people, even a beekeeper has been monitoring the bees.”
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