Maintaining our beautiful parkland

Aug 2025

Locally grown, community shared

We’re pleased to bring you an update on our Growzone

Our Growzone is growing!

Since the launch of this project in October last year, we have provided 4,700 bunches of fresh veggies to 51 Early Childhood Development Centres in Diepsloot every month. That translates to nutritious meals for 3,262 children and staff members, every day. A very big thank you to our sponsors, the Steyn City Foundation, Auto & General and the Fidelity Group, who have made this project possible. Now, you can support this initiative, too. That’s because we’re launching The Greenery, a market store at the City Centre, where the beautiful produce from our Growzone will be available for sale every Saturday. Not only will you be able to stock up on freshly grown produce; every purchase you make will assist in making the Growzone sustainable, helping us bring even more nurturing to our communities.

The Greenery opening 6 September

The Steyn City Foundation originally established the Growzone to support the neighbouring community of Diepsloot. This project has since evolved into something even greater; introducing The Greenery, a vehicle for bringing fresh, seasonal, locally grown produce straight to our residents.

The Greenery is all about farm to fork; a concept that encompasses the various stages of food production and consumption, emphasising a more direct connection between the production of food on farms and its consumption on our plates. The idea is to minimise the distance and processes that food undergoes between its origin in the fields to the final consumer. This philosophy stresses the importance of sourcing food locally, reducing the carbon footprint associated with transportation, and often involves a commitment to sustainable farming practices. It also highlights the value of fresh, unprocessed, and nutrient-rich foods, contributing to healthier eating habits.

Every Saturday, The Greenery, an exquisite artisanal market store next to the Le Creuset store will offer a thoughtfully curated selection of seasonal items harvested directly from the Growzone alongside a range of wholesome, artisanal treats and lifestyle goodies.

Expect to find:

Fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs
Artisanal breads, pastries, and cakes
Farm-fresh dairy products and eggs
Homemade jams, preserves, and honey
Fresh country flowers, and potted herbs and blooms
Stylish kitchen linen and décor
Eco-friendly beauty and home products

It’s fresh, it’s local, and it’s part of Steyn City’s extraordinary lifestyle where community, convenience, and wellbeing are always in season.

Initial trading hours: Saturday from 08h00 to 14h00.

Nov 2024

Discover and appreciate our environment

Growing momentum: Mpact Recycling participation

Cape Town recently hosted The Earthshot Prize, where the winners of this prestigious award were named. The event brought a global spotlight to our Mother City, and our country, while highlighting the environmental challenges the world faces. It was inspiring to learn of the many individuals and organisations pioneering technologies and practices around the globe to reduce carbon footprints and waste; however, the event also showcased the importance of sustainability for future generations.

Against this backdrop, we are proud to see our residents and hubs actively participating in our Mpact Recycling initiative, with 505 registered bins currently in use. Household recycling has steadily increased month by month in the 16 months since the initiative was launched, with an average of 8.42 kg of waste per household per month, recorded this year.

To provide broader context to these figures, MPact currently supports 10 estates under Service Level Agreements (SLAs). From January to October this year, Steyn City consistently outperformed eight of the other registered estates.

While it may seem small, our collective efforts are a catalyst for meaningful environmental change and a step toward a more sustainable future for all.

Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Clinic – using our environment to rehabilitate patients

While the ‘Nature at Steyn City’ WhatsApp group has become a hive of activity and interest, we’ve noticed that our residents have yet to spot some of our new wildlife residents, including an African Mole Rat, Eleanor the porcupine (who was fortunate enough to be named), a hedgehog, and a shrew.

These wild animals were recently treated and rehabilitated by the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Clinic before being released back into our parkland, enriching our thriving ecosystem.

We are truly blessed to live alongside nature in a habitat that strengthens our connectedness with the world around us.

Let’s see who spots them first! If you’d like to join this WhatsApp group, please email [email protected]

Removal of invasive trees – a key responsibility to our environment

This is an ongoing project focused on the removal of invasive tree species. The removed trees are processed into mulch, which we then use in our landscaping efforts. From a water-wise and environmental management perspective, this initiative is not only a legal requirement but is also essential for maintaining the ecological balance. Our estate’s landscaping palette features indigenous trees exclusively, ensuring we stay true to sustainable practice.

Jul 2024

Steyn City and sustainability: the two go hand in hand

Steyn City and sustainability: the two go hand in hand.

A double win for Golf Data, our appointed golf course and landscaping service provider

Golf Data’s hard work and creativity has been recognised with two prestigious awards.

Congratulations to Golf Data, which was recently awarded a Double Gold award in the South African Landscapers Institute (SALI’s) annual Awards of Excellence programme.

Steyn City was recognised with accolades for landscape maintenance and water sustainability. The team was singled out for its commitment to delivering best practices, while behaving responsibly in the areas of budget, sustainability and consumption.

As one judge remarked, “The quality of workmanship, attention to detail, and condition of beds and lawns at Steyn City is of an exceptional standard.”

We couldn’t agree more. Our 2 000 acre parkland is more than just a beautiful backdrop: it’s what makes our estate the serene haven it is, allowing all residents to forge a connection and reset in an environment that is truly without parallel.

Recycling

Our partnership with Mpact Recycling has shown our commitment to reducing waste. Steyn City has recycled 43 tons (among 505 contributing households) of waste since inception of the programme last year that would have otherwise gone into a landfill.

Nature WhatsApp group

Did you know there’s a ‘Nature at Steyn City’ WhatsApp group formed by some of our early residents and staff members? If you’d like to see some of the beautiful sightings, landscape shots, and images shared in this group, please email hello@steyncity to have your contact details added.

Water licence

Steyn City has, in the past, used grey water to irrigate the estate. This water is further polished at our onsite filtration plant.

Following a three-year legal and administrative process, we have now also obtained a water use licence from the Department of Water Affairs to source water from the Jukskei River, mitigating the risk of having a single water source. Although this has been a lengthy process, it was vital so that we could undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment to ensure the sustainability of the project and avoid mismanagement of water use in years to come.

All the attenuation dams on the estate, which collect stormwater, have now been connected, along with our storage dams, so that we can move water around as needed.

Potable water

As interruptions to our water supply become increasingly common, Steyn City has taken steps to ensure that residents have access to potable water in case of emergency. Our emergency water plan encompasses seven boreholes with in-line filters, a potable filtration system that filters water from the lagoon, bulk storage tanks in the City Centre basement for City Centre use, and the distribution of water to emergency storage points in all suburbs, in case of need. The architectural guidelines also encourage residents in free standing homes to make adequate storage provisions in case of emergency. Of course, these measures will not provide an indefinite supply of water, but should help residents through the worst, in an emergency situation.

Maintaining our beautiful parkland

In our last edition, we were proud to let you know that one of the ways we contribute to sustainability is by making our own mulch to feed our parkland. Here’s how we do it: the mulch is made from invasive trees on the estate, which are cut down by the Landscape Maintenance team as part of their Environmental Management Programme. These trees are then chipped. This mulch is worked back into our parkland spaces, creating a protective layer that retains moisture and acts as a barrier for weed infestation. The following pictures, taken along the Jukskei River, show the work of our team over the past month.

Renewable energy

Steyn City is looking towards the sun! We’re excited to see more parts of our parkland powered by solar energy, with a number of installations ensuring that we lessen our dependence on electricity. Solar has now been installed at the aquatic centre, equestrian centre and contractors’ gatehouse, with another installation planned at Steyn City School campus during the August holidays. Meanwhile, at Heron Heights (the new apartments overlooking the thirteenth tee, which is currently under construction), 80% of energy needs will be provided by solar and battery power.

Keeping our EV owners on the go!

Great news for all electric vehicle owners: we’re introducing two new Chargify stations to give you the infrastructure, convenience and support you need to keep on the go. We believe this is an essential addition to the estate, given the increasing adoption of electric vehicles – not to mention our own commitment to grow our use of renewable energy sources. Located in the City Centre’s mezzanine level by the escalators, these are universal charging stations featuring the latest technology in collaboration with Mercedes Benz. The installation will take place in early August. Simply drive up to one of the two EV charging stations, plug in, charge and pay.

Men at work

A big thank you to our maintenance team within SCMA; the maintenance team has refurbished the road markings in certain sections of our main arterial route. The team is constantly busy with behind-the-scenes maintenance activities, from electrical and mechanical work to plumbing and painting, often working throughout the night to address water and power outages. Their work is always guided by preventive, corrective and predictive maintenance. Thank you once again to the team for ensuring our lives run as smoothly as possible.

More new stops

SCMA is currently installing and constructing three new bus shuttle stops in The Lakes, The Village, and River View to provide convenient transport options for the growing number of residents and their domestic staff. SCMA will issue an updated timetable upon completion, to include the new pick-up and drop-off points.

May 2024

Maintaining our beautiful parkland

Given the backdrop of our 2 000 acre indigenous parkland, it’s not surprising that sustainability is a key priority at Steyn City. Here’s what we’re doing to protect our natural heritage.

Our eco-conscious initiative

We’ve always believed that our parkland is a truly unique feature – and we’re proud that the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH) agrees. Last year, the organisation selected Steyn City as a site to rehabilitate sick and injured animals before they are released into the wild, and we are extremely pleased to have already played a role in helping a number of animals of different species return to health. Recently, we have also welcomed 11 hedgehogs to the parkland; an exciting development, as these spiky little creatures play a key role in the ecosystem by controlling pest populations. It’s interesting to know that they are nocturnal foragers, and despite being land-dwellers, they’re excellent swimmers and can take to the water when they need to.

Maintaining our beautiful parkland

The tree canopies in the parkland are expanding each year, causing the lawn beneath to struggle. As a result, you may have noticed that our Landscaping team has been diligently planting more shade-tolerant plants, applying mulch, and introducing ground covers and shrubs in these areas to maintain the appeal of our beautiful green belts as our parkland matures.