The 39-hectare (96-acre) park was originally built around a smaller piece of land that was donated by the botanist Edith Layard Stephens.

She intended it to preserve the rare Isoetes capensis plant, which exists nowhere else on Earth.

After subsequent additions to take it to its present size, the resulting park was named after her.

The park is run by the City of Cape Town in partnership with the local community.

It now has an Environmental Education Centre, boardwalk trails, a picnic area, a bird hide and a garden of medicinal plants.