On April 5, after almost three years of reconstruction, the renewed Botanic Garden of Klaipėda University (KU) opens its doors to the public. Visitors to the Botanic Garden will be delighted by lighted educational trails adapted for people with mobility disabilities, a modern plant labeling system, interactive information stands, three gazebos of different styles, and new benches for vacationers.
The newly installed Educational Center of the Botanical Garden already has activities planned for visitors – these are various seminars, trainings, education for students. May 3 the plant fair “From flower to tree” will be held in the garden, and on the eve of the International Plant Admiration Day, May 17, the traditional event “Spring alas” will be held.
The first guests of the renewed garden, who arrived on the environmentally friendly DANCER electric bus, had the opportunity to take part in the inspection of the renovated spaces and the Education Center. After the tour, visitors were invited to taste herbal tea grown in the Botanical Garden and watch the planting of new trees up close.
Environment Minister Simonas Gentvilas and European Parliament Member Juozas Olekas also came to admire the innovations and congratulate the new stage.
The Minister of Environment emphasized that the fact that Klaipėda University has a botanical garden only once again confirms the importance of the university for the city and its residents. “In Lithuania, all 4 botanical gardens belong to universities and their main missions are to nurture protected species, introduce citizens to nature and plants, and popularize scientific knowledge. Botanical gardens in the city are educational centers, so having such a space should encourage as many people as possible to come here, so that science is passed on to the public,” said Simonas Gentvilas.
“This was the first investment of this size in the 30 years of operation of the KU Botanical Garden. We are happy that after the implementation of the infrastructural project, the conditions for visitors to the garden have improved”, says KU Vice-Rector of Infrastructure and Development Assoc. Dr. Benediktas Petrauskas.
“After almost three years, we have the opportunity to present to the public the renewed spaces of the Botanic Garden, where the community will be able to spend their free time and leave the environment of green vegetation charged with positive energy. We can see that this place has become a center of attraction for tourists over the years, and residents of the port city also like to visit it. The garden will continue to delight the public with the variety of plants and educational activities.”, said the rector of Klaipėda University, prof. Dr. Artūras Razbadauskas.
KU Botanic Garden will celebrate its 31st anniversary this year. Its territory is 9.3 ha. Currently, almost 5 thousand plant samples are growing here. There are 5 collections being created, nurtured and continuously enriched: Dendrological, Medicinal and aromatic, Herbal decorative plant collections, Oriental gardens and Lithuanian flora.
The total amount of the reconstruction project is EUR 922,900.94. European Union structural funds were used to implement the project. Klaipėda University allocated EUR 138,453.14 for this project.
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– 2024-04-09 08:14:47
