Prof Willie Nel, Head of Department: Environmental Sciences; Dr Christy Boylan, international guest speaker; Cllr Mabena, Johannesburg Metro; and Prof Jimmy Hendrick, Director: School of Environmental Sciences
The importance of green public spaces was highlighted during the Department of Environmental Sciences’ public lecture held at the Unisa Florida Campus on Monday 16 January 2012. Dr Christy Boylan from Ireland was the guest speaker at the lecture and his topic of focus was “The value, quality, quantity, accessibility, utilisation, assessment techniques and so on of public green spaces”.
Different members of society interested in going green and those who work at various parks attended the event and engaged extensively with Dr Christy Boylan. Dr Boylan started with the background, history and origin of parks. He said that parks cater for a wide diversity of populations. ”Good quality parks are attractive to all age, race, gender and wealth groups.” He added that the reason society needs parks is because they promote healthy lifestyles as people walk around parks a lot, they are essential for wild life, they are a good place to go when people need clean air and they are great for recreational purposes.
He also mentioned that heritage is one of the crucial aspects of parks. Dr Boylan emphasised the fact that people need to take good care of their parks. “There is great vested interest in parks in Europe; even the space between blocks of flats are developed and made green.” He mentioned that he cannot form an opinion on South African green spaces since he has not travelled locally yet. “However, universities need to develop their public spaces so that students can use them as their study group areas,” he added.
Dr Christy Boylan began his horticulture career at an agricultural college. He then moved to the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, where he completed a National Diploma in Horticulture in 1966. He graduated from the University College Dublin in 1971 with a B.Agri.Sc (Hort). He also studied Landscape Architecture, Landscape Horticulture and Parks and Recreation Management at Michigan State University, USA, where he earned an MS and PhD. Upon his return to Ireland in 1975, he joined Dublin Corporation Parks Department, becoming a Senior Executive Landscape Architect until he moved to South Dublin County Council in 1993 to head the newly formed Parks and Landscapes Services Department. In 2003, he obtained a Master of Business Administration from Dublin City University. In 2007 he retired from managing parks in Dublin to pursue a career in Landscape consultancy.
