Page 9 - Landscape129

PROJECT

with soil, and a lot of fertiliser,” he explains.
Some of the local indigenous trees
were dug out of the bush from areas that
were going to be cleared for farming,
with permission from the local chiefs.
The baobabs “came from all over the
place – peoples’ back yards in Livingstone,
alongside streets, and the bush”. Hodgson
says that moving large trees has never
really been done in Zambia and he had
to organise a police escort to assist them
safely through the traffic. A tow truck was
used to lift the trees.
A lawn farm was established in
conjunction with one of the local schools so
that it could benefit from the lawned area
after the project was completed. Emerald
Green also assisted with landscaping at the
school to help improve its environment.
Hodgson says they sprigged a 20 000 m2
area, which was then used as a nursery
source for the project. Richmond grass was
used.
Plants were grown in Lusaka and a
holding nursery was set up in Livingstone,
near the railway yard. This was attacked by
elephants breaking a concrete block wall,
damaging larger trees and trampling on
groundcovers. A night security was put in
place, and chilli bombs were made (crushed
chilli peppers and elephant dung). This was
burnt when the elephants were close by,
and the smoke kept them at bay. Some
damage also occurred during planting, with
trees being snapped in half, and hippos
walking on the newly laid lawn areas made
huge divots. This, in addition to them
eating it, caused it to die off in certain areas.
Further damage was done by baboons
swinging from the trees and snapping
them; they also lifted the artificial turf at the
putt-putt area, looking for insects. “Again,
chilli pepper spray came to the rescue to
keep the animals away,” says Hodgson. A
Visual water feature axis looking from the tiled pool deck through to the hotel reception entrance further threat came from crocodiles when
placing the suction pumps for the complex
under the jetty.
Emerald Green trained all the staff in
landscaping as very few of them had any
experience. They now work for the hotel as
maintenance staff, which is a good legacy
for any project, states Hodgson.
SALI Award
Countryline received a gold award for
the project in the 2023 SALI Awards
of Excellence, having entered it in the
category of Landscape Construction with
Design By Others.

Photos by James Hodgson of Emerald Green and
Landmark Studios
The 18 hole mini golf course within the children’s play area n

Landscape SA • Issue 129 2023 7