The botanical garden of Santa Cruz Palmetum It will soon undertake the first actions that will allow it to improve its facilities with the aim of increasing the quality of the services it provides, not only to visitors, but also in terms of its scientific research aspect. Thus, the first of these actions, and the most important, will be the renovation and expansion of its nursery. This project will have the support of Fundación Cepsa, an entity with which it will also address the second of the interventions, which consists of the recovery of an inland lake and the construction of a Hide, a space for bird watching, which will involve improving access. Both actions have already been awarded, so the start of work will take place at the beginning of 2024.
The mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, values the beginning of some work that will result in “the substantial improvement of a unique space”, which, he recalled, “is the first step of a much larger project whose purpose promote this environment as a great family leisure area in the capital” and added that, “while consolidating it as a growing visitor attraction, turning it into an example of sustainable policies and allowing it to serve as a training axis on issues related to biodiversity, with the intention that these investments return to the city, both from an economic and sustainability point of view.”
For his part, the councilor responsible for the Parque Marítimo and Palmetum society, Javier Rivero, highlighted that “with these works we are going to promote the development of the botanical garden so that it continues to be a reference in the framework of sustainability, also expanding its scientific aspect. and research thanks to the improvement of nurseries, with more space and better experimental conditions.”
For the head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, “these new actions are an example of the many initiatives in which Fundación Cepsa collaborates in the area of biodiversity. The new nursery will allow not only to improve the conditions of reproduction and growth of the botanical collection, but also to develop in the short term a training aspect through a future scientific classroom and the holding of professional meetings and training days.
As detailed in the project regarding the greenhouses, as the origin of the new species of palm trees that are going to be produced there, they must respond to the profile of a scientific type nursery, with a very clear segregation of the different climatic requirements that a given species needs. This new space will allow better conditions for the reproduction of species in general, but especially for those that are rare and usually scarce in nature.
Thus, the geotechnical characteristics of the site, on the southern slope of Palmetum, advise acting with a fragmented volumetry, or in other words, the erection of four buildings for the development of this nursery area. These are very light structures that do not involve the transmission of excessive loads.
The first of the structures will be a service building, which will contain toilets, changing rooms, lockers and an office-dining room for staff. The second building will be a cultivation module, equipped with a polycarbonate outer skin, complemented by an inner white shading mesh. The phytosanitary products warehouse and the installation room are located there. The project maintains the existing networks, equipping them with a new, more efficient storage and pressure group system.
The third building will be entirely dedicated to the cultivation space, and a fourth building will house a work center, a cultivation space, propagator, office and hall. The action area has a total area of 1,891.66 square meters.
There will be a services building, which will include the dining room, toilets and changing rooms. In a second building, a nursery will be installed intended not only for growing spaces but also for storage, next to the pumps and storage spaces. A smaller cultivation module will be located in a third structure, which will house the Work Center.
Once the work is completed, a scientific classroom can be implemented in this area in which the scientific training aspect can be developed through professional meetings and conferences and specialized training sessions, in which the support of the Cepsa Foundation will be essential. .
