Delta Park
Great Urban Green Space
Delta Park is one of Johannesburg’s great urban green spaces, and one of the most valuable natural assets for residents of Craighall Park, Victory Park, Blairgowrie and the surrounding suburbs.
Spread across roughly 104 hectares of grassland, woodland, dams and walking trails, the park sits along the Braamfontein Spruit and gives residents something that is increasingly rare in city life, open space, fresh air, birdlife, shade, water, and room to move. It is used daily by walkers, runners, cyclists, birders, families, dog walkers, school groups and residents who simply need a quiet reset close to home. Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo describes Delta Park as one of the city’s “biggest green lungs” and an “ambler’s paradise”.
A park with a surprising history
Delta Park’s past is not the soft-focus picnic version one might expect. Its story begins with sewage. Glamorous? Not exactly. Important? Absolutely.
The land that became Delta Park was part of Johannesburg’s northern sewage infrastructure. The Delta Sewage Disposal Works operated from 1934 to 1963, at a time when Johannesburg was growing northwards and urgently needed better systems to deal with waste and protect public health. The original Art Deco building, now home to the Delta Environmental Centre, was part of that municipal works complex.
After the sewage works closed in June 1963, the site was at risk of neglect and demolition. In the 1970s, Norman Bloom helped save and repurpose the main building, transforming it into what became the Delta Environmental Centre. The surrounding land was converted into public open space, which is how a former sewage works became one of Johannesburg’s most loved parks.
That is a very Johannesburg story, practical, imperfect, and strangely brilliant.
What you will find at Delta Park
Delta Park offers a mix of open lawns, grassland, wooded areas, dams, bird hides, walking trails and picnic spots. The Braamfontein Spruit runs along the eastern side of the park, linking Delta Park to the wider Spruit trail network.
Residents use the park for:
- Walking, running and trail riding
- Dog walking
- Bird watching
- Picnics and family outings
- Environmental education
- Parkrun on Saturday mornings
- Access to the Braamfontein Spruit trail network
There are several access points, including the main entrance around Road No. 3 and Road No. 5 off Rustenburg Road, Victory Park, as well as access from the Blairgowrie side near Pitcairn Road and Penelope Avenue. Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo lists the park address as 77 Craighall Road, Victory Park.
Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary
One of Delta Park’s most special features is the Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary.
The sanctuary was opened in 1975 and is named in memory of Florence Bloom, the mother of Harry, Norman and David Bloom. According to the Delta Environmental Centre, it is the oldest existing bird sanctuary in Johannesburg. The sanctuary covers about 7.5 hectares and, together with the rest of Delta Park, has recorded more than 250 bird species over the past 40 years.
The sanctuary includes dams, open veld, denser bush and bird hides. It attracts water birds such as ducks, coots, moorhens and kingfishers, while the grassland and bush areas support species such as bishops, weavers, francolins, warblers, prinias, sparrowhawks and owls. The wider park and sanctuary also provide habitat for small mammals, reptiles and other wildlife.
For residents, the sanctuary is a reminder that Delta Park is not just a recreational space. It is also an important urban habitat. That means it needs active care, respectful use and ongoing protection.
Delta Environmental Centre https://deltaenviro.org.za/about-us/
The Delta Environmental Centre is housed in the old Art Deco sewage works building. It now serves as an environmental education centre, offering programmes for school groups, teachers and other participants. The Centre’s purpose is to build awareness, knowledge and responsible action around environmental issues.
The Centre has also recently revived its theatre space, now known as The Whirlwind Theatre, a 185-seat community performance venue within the Delta Environmental Centre. Residents can follow The Whirlwind Theatre on Facebook and Instagram, and book tickets for events through Quicket.
- https://www.quicket.co.za/organisers/89686-the-whirlwind-theatre
- https://www.facebook.com/TheWhirlwindTheatreSA
- https://www.instagram.com/thewhirlwindtheatre
This is one of the reasons Delta Park matters beyond our immediate neighbourhood. It is not only a park, it is an outdoor classroom, a community space, and a practical example of how neglected urban infrastructure can be reused for public benefit.
Delta parkrun https://www.parkrun.co.za/delta/
Delta Park is home to Delta parkrun, a free weekly 5 km community event held every Saturday at 08:00. Participants can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. Registration is required before taking part for the first time, and participants need to bring a scannable barcode to receive an official time.
Parkrun is one of the best examples of how Delta Park brings people together. It is healthy, social, free, and open to a wide range of fitness levels. It also brings regular foot traffic into the park, which helps keep the space active and visible.
Jozi Trails and the Spruit https://jozitrails.co.za/
Delta Park connects into the wider Braamfontein Spruit trail system, a major recreational corridor for walkers, runners and cyclists in Johannesburg.
Jozi Trails is a non-profit company that develops, maintains and protects public trails and parks in the Joburg Metro, with a strong focus on the Braamfontein Spruit corridor. Its work includes maintaining trails, developing new trails, improving safety and accessibility, and encouraging community support.
Trail users are asked to be considerate. Jozi Trails advises users to keep left, pass safely, use caution at crossings, keep pets on short leashes where dogs are allowed, pick up after pets, respect wildlife and plants, stay on marked trails and avoid motorised vehicles on the Spruit.
In simple terms, use the park like you want it to still be beautiful next year.
How the CRA supports Delta Park
The CraigPark Residents’ Association has been actively involved in keeping Delta Park and the Braamfontein Spruit cleaner, safer and better cared for. The CRA works with Bubele Africa, Jozi Trails, Friends of Delta, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, and resident volunteers to support practical work in and around the park.
In November 2023, the CRA arranged a massive clean-up at the Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary with more than 30 residents and Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo. Volunteers filled a 4-ton truck and a Toyota Hilux with refuse. The fences were repaired, gates locked and the Bird Sanctuary has returned to a peaceful, safe place where Long-Crested Eagles, Black Sparrowhawks, Ovambo Sparrowhawks, Peregrine Falcons, Black-Winged Kites and many different owls live.
Friends of Delta was founded in 2023 by residents from the suburbs surrounding Delta Park. It now operates as an initiative under the CRA, with all park-related donations and expenditure ring-fenced specifically for Delta Park projects and operations. This gives residents and regular park users a practical, transparent way to help fund ongoing work in the park, including security support, maintenance, environmental improvements and urgent response efforts.
You do not need to live within the CRA area to support Delta Park. If you use the park, walk your dogs there, run there, visit with your family, enjoy the bird sanctuary, or simply believe that shared green spaces matter, becoming a Friend of Delta is a direct way to help protect it.
Monthly contributions from R50 help fund ongoing work in the park. Once-off donations can also be arranged. Every rand donated to Friends of Delta goes solely towards the upkeep, protection and improvement of Delta Park.
Become a Friend of Delta and sign up with a monthly contribution of R50: https://paystack.shop/pay/friendsofdelta
This is the real work behind a usable public space. Parks do not maintain themselves. Clean trails, working fences, safer access points, litter-free public areas and responsive maintenance happen because residents, volunteers, NGOs, City Parks and community organisations keep showing up.
How residents can help
Delta Park is a public asset, but it is also a shared responsibility.
Residents can help by:
- Using bins, or taking litter home
- Picking up after dogs
- Keeping dogs under control, especially near birdlife and other users
- Staying on established paths and trails
- Reporting dumping, broken infrastructure and safety concerns
- Joining community clean-ups
- Supporting the CRA, Bubele Africa, Friends of Delta, Jozi Trails and other groups doing practical work in the park
- Respecting the Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary as a conservation area, not just another walking route
The mental model here is simple: incentives matter. If residents treat Delta Park as “someone else’s problem”, it will decline. If residents treat it as shared infrastructure that supports quality of life and property values, it has a far better chance of thriving.
Braamfontein Spruit Maps
Braamfontein Spruit
The ridges known as the Witwatersrand form one of the main watersheds in the Rep of SA. The name means ridge of white waters, for the early travellers found 14 streams rising from these rocky ridges. These streams feed into 2 major river systems, namely the Limpopo and Orange Rivers.
The Braamfontein Spruit rises in Hillbrow, as a spring. The Spruit flows northwards and is joined by the Montgomery and Westdene Spruits below Emmarentia Dam. It continues on its way through Victory Park, Parkhurst, Craighall Park, Craighall, Glenadrienne and Bryanston joining the Klein Jukskei in Sunninghill. Together they join the Jukskei at Leeukop and continue to the Crocodile River which flows into Hartebeestpoort Dam.
