The Community Connect Nursery was opened in 2011 and owes its humble beginnings to a member of the Mandela Park Peace Garden, Oom David, who for many years of his own initiative propagated indigenous plants for sale and for use in the community garden. SANBI recognized his skill and built a 40 square meter nursery for him to upscale his operations.
In 2010 Oom David approached JNF Walter Sisulu Environmental Centre to sell the nursery as he was already elderly and was finding it difficult to maintain his work and the nursery. JNF Walter Sisulu Environmental Centre purchased the nursery under the auspices of the Mamelodi Greening Project with the support of Bidvest so as to propagate our own indigenous shade trees to supply to the greening program and indigenous shrubs, plants, and medicinal plants for use in our school greening program.