THE Avis Dam with its surrounding natural environment has evolved into a popular green draw-card for many Windhoekers and visitors to the city.
Despite continued threats of development nearby and on the land, a group of dedicated ‘Friends of Avis Dam’ have managed to keep the unique environment a natural habitat – preserving and protecting a green haven for anyone needing to reconnect with nature. A founding member explains that the Avis Dam area forms part of an initiative to create a metropolitan open space system (Moss), which ideally consists of a conglomeration of different types of open spaces available to residents in a densely populated area. The role of a space such as Avis Dam is to ‘try and preserve an area as naturally as possible’, integrating a policy of ‘let it be’ to keep an area as free as possible from the ‘human urge to develop’. An avid Avis Dam fan explains that the goal is for people to realise that ‘no development’ is an option to contribute to people’s quality of life.Currently the Friends of Avis Dam voluntary group is promoting the dam as a place that is open to all who need to escape the frenzy of city life. ‘It’s a restorative space. You come into this pace and it doesn’t talk back. It’s just quietness. Your mind needs this. Human beings need this,’ says a founding member of Greenspace, the non-profit organisation under which Friends of Avis was formed.Another member points out that it is vital that Windhoekers take collective responsibility and pride in this natural space, which is managed privately by the Friends of Avis without municipal funds. ‘This place is not exclusive, it is for everybody.’ The Avis Dam was built in the South African colonial period and completed by the then administration for the Windhoek Municipality in 1933. According to a frequent visitor to Avis Dam, the place was heading towards becoming ‘a real dump’, and developers were eyeing it greedily when a group came together under the volunteer group Greenspace. The group managed to convince the municipality to have the 220 hectares leased to Greenspace, who have since then taken over management of the area. The Friends of Avis organisation manages the cleanliness and security of the dam with the greater aim of creating a welcoming atmosphere to everyone. One keen visitor says Avis has become a ‘jewel’ smack bang in the centre of urban development, highlighting the original goal of preserving a natural habitat for city dwellers. At present the dam and surrounding area house a representative example of Highland Savanna plants, and provides valuable habitat for birds, mammals and other species. Melle Orford, the chairperson of Greenspace, says Avis is loved by many because of ‘its unspoilt beauty … it’s where they can get a rest from the noise and the stress of the city’. She says Greenspace continues its efforts to attract members and funds in order to pay for the upkeep of the dam and surrounding area. The Avis Dam, its security service, maintenance and other costs are privately funded with no help from the city coffers. Orford says on weekdays the Avis Dam attracts between 20 and 50 visitors a day, while on weekends up to 100 or more people spend a part of their day at the dam. The importance of protecting Avis is paramount, a founding member said, especially considering that ‘free nature is a diminishing commodity’. It’s vital that Windhoekers embrace Avis as an integral part of the city’s character, which contributes to a balanced life for everyone.
