SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, December 28. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife, through the area of Natural Environment, Sustainability and Security and Emergencies, and Fundación Cepsa have launched the project to expand the nursery of the El Portillo Botanical Garden, located in the Teide National Park, to repopulate the area affected by the fire last summer.
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila; the Minister of Natural Environment, Sustainability, Security and Emergencies, Blanca Pérez; and the head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, recently visited the facility where the works will take place.
Blanca Pérez explained that the objective of this initiative “is to achieve sufficient plant production in response to the sudden repopulation needs after the fire last August. We are working with different actions to recover our forests and we appreciate the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa to carry the expansion of the Botanical Garden nursery”.
For her part, Belén Machado pointed out that because of what Tenerife means to Cepsa because the company was founded here, and because Teide is a symbol for the people of Tenerife, “we have chosen this location to materialize our collaboration with the environmental restoration of the areas affected by the fire that recently affected the Island. The nursery has a very important role in the conservation and rescue of the flora of Teide, and its expansion, after what happened, was necessary.”
The expansion of the nursery is organized in an area adjacent to the current nursery, with about 200 m2 of surface that will allow, at least, to double plant production. The project includes expansion work that will consist of creating access to the nursery, work to level the land, construction of stone walls, installation of tables for the production of plants, irrigation network, perimeter fencing and installation of signs and interpretive table.
The Botanical Garden is located near the El Portillo Visitor Center and covers an area of four hectares where specimens produced in the nursery have been introduced with the aim of integrating them into the existing vegetation and proceeding to label each of them. the species with the common and scientific name; botanical family to which it belongs; map with geographical distribution, both on the island and, where applicable, in the Canary archipelago.
The El Portillo Botanical Garden is part of the International Association of Botanical Gardens. In addition to public enjoyment and contemplation, it carries out important work in the conservation and rescue of the flora of the national park, since the nursery has seedbeds, greenhouse, shade, laboratory and station. To cover it in its entirety, some 1,200 meters of trail have been prepared and the adaptation of a significant part of the route for people with reduced mobility stands out, allowing a large part of it to be covered in a wheelchair and with children’s strollers.
