JARDÍN BOTÁNICO
San Miguel
de Allende
Guanajuato, México
charcodelingenio@gmail.com
THE PROJECT
MISSION
1.- Restore and preserve an area of ecological, natural and historical value, removing it from the encroaching urban sprawl of San Miguel de Allende, conserving its natural resources in the public interest.
2.- Establish and develop a Botanical Garden for the protection, study, appreciation, and propagation of native flora, particularly those from the desert and semi-desert regions of Mexico.
3.- Develop a relationship between the Botanical Garden and the community, learning from traditional knowledge of nature in order promote a new social attitude toward the environment, based on conservation of biodiversity (environmental education).
4.- Make the Botanical Garden a community gathering place, open to and inclusive of all sectors of society in San Miguel de Allende, as well as foreign visitors.
5.- Achieve economic independence, mainly through the Botanical Garden’s own income, supplemented by donations and funding for specific projects.
THE BIRTH OF A GARDEN
The work of establishing a Botanical Garden and Nature Conservation Area in San Miguel de Allende was started in 1989 by Cante A.C., a Mexican nonprofit organization with diverse ecological and cultural interests. The impressive canyon of El Charco del Ingenio, both close to yet isolated from the town, appeared as the ideal place for the proposed project - an area of great natural beauty, of ecological and historical value, in danger of being swallowed up by the continuing expansion of San Miguel.
Thanks to timely economic assistance, Cante was able to acquire various parcels of land amounting to around 30 hectares above the cliffs and escarpments of the canyon. Despite its rural nature, much of the land had been seriously affected by past human activity - tree felling, removal of soil, hunting, overgrazing, fire, and accumulation of litter. This resulted in serious disturbance to local wildlife, especially in the upper parts of the canyon, which are exposed to erosion and the effects of an increasingly arid and extreme climate.
The original proposal took shape through a master plan of landscape design which visualized an extensive Botanical Garden surrounded by a conservation zone - a place dedicated to the study, appreciation and enjoyment of nature, open to the local population, while at the same time mindful of the area’s undoubted potential for sustainable tourist development.
The initial work involved cleaning and fencing the land and then, with the intention of introducing the wild flora and fauna in stages, various tasks of environmental restoration. Among these tasks were the construction of dikes and filtration dams to retain soil and groundwater, the pruning and cleaning of the existing vegetation and limited planting of native species.
The initiative to create a Botanical Garden in San Miguel de Allende was supported from the outset by the federal Department of Ecology (at that time SEDUE) which authorized the necessary registration and permits to collect plants in the arid and semiarid regions of Mexico. This was done in conjunction with the Institute of Biology and The Botanical Gardens of the National University of Mexico (UNAM). With these first few specimens, the Botanical Gardens at El Charco del Ingenio began to build its collection of plants.
With a minimal infrastructure and equipment in place, such as paths, plazas, lookout points and areas for exhibition and services, the new Botanical Garden was ready to open its doors to the public. The opening ceremony took place during the total eclipse of the sun on July 11, 1991. It was a moving ceremony in which representatives of local indigenous communities witnessed the founding of the garden, and raised a traditional cross, cruz de animas, sanctifying the area and committing the communities of San Miguel Allende to the stewardship of its natural resources. Every year since then, the festival of La Santa Cruz del Charco del Ingenio has been celebrated in the Botanical Gardens, affirming the important collaboration of people from both rural and urban areas of the municipality.
Acquisition of adjoining pieces of land extended the site of the Botanical Gardens to 67 hectares. Another important addition of territory for the project took place in 1994, when Cante received 35 hectares adjacent to the Botanical Gardens, in trust from the local government, with the proposal to establish a popular nature and recreational park. Thus the project came to cover a total area of 100 hectares within San Miguel’s zone of expansion, free of urban development and dedicated to a novel and sustainable program of environmental conservation.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GARDEN
Given the large area available and the breadth of the conservation mandate, a multifaceted approach was clearly needed - one which would take the project beyond its physical boundaries.
The creation of an extensive botanical collection, mainly of cacti and succulent plants, which come from all corners of Mexico, has meant establishing relations with rural communities, scientific institutions and various authorities for the protection of rare species, or those threatened with extinction. This collection represents, above all, the biodiversity at risk in our country. It is exhibited in various parts of the Gardens, but is especially showcased in the Conservatory of Mexican Plants, along with aquatic species and fish native to the region. The botanical collection forms the genetic base for propagation in the nursery at El Charco del Ingenio.
The extensive landholding, its extreme topography and the existence of wetlands provide a varied ecosystem, with a surprising variety of wildlife. Through the years, native flora has gradually re-established itself in a natural manner with some intervention, replacing non-native forage grasses and other invasive species. The ecosystem is undergoing a process of natural regeneration and plants that seemed to have disappeared reappear each year. The same is happening with the native fauna, which finds an increasingly suitable habitat in which to live and reproduce.
Some of the more disturbed areas of the Botanical Gardens and the adjoining park have been designated as areas for reforestation with trees and shrubs native to the area, propagated in the Gardens’ nursery. These native plants are resistant to drought, poor soils and the extreme climate. The experimental plots, or arboretums, allow the study of the characteristics and potential of each species in this type of environment.
This effort of conservation and promotion of natural resources has received recognition from thousands of visitors, both Mexican and foreign, as well as representatives of various publications and conservation groups. In 1995, Cante received the “National Prize for Ecological Merit” from the Mexican government in recognition of its contribution to conservation.
The size and complexity of the project eventually made it necessary to create a new organization independent of Cante and dedicated specifically to the development of the Botanical Gardens. Thus, in 1998, El Charco del Ingenio A.C. was chartered to receive from Cante a donation of the land and facilities which make up the Botanical Gardens. This included the valuable collection of Mexican plants, whose care and management was authorized the following year by Mexican Environment Agency (SEMARNAT) through the registration of the Gardens as a “management unit for wildlife conservation.”
El Charco del Ingenio, in its capacity as the owner and manager of the Botanical Gardens, is focusing its efforts on a strategy of self-sufficiency through diversification of its sources of income. It has also built up a trained staff, each with responsibility for specific areas of work in the Botanical Gardens, such as attention to the public, maintenance, propagation, management of flora and fauna, etc. These efforts are supported by Mexican students doing social service work, and by volunteers from a variety of sources.
El Charco del Ingenio also has a special interest in the historical dimension of the land, which was an important part of San Miguel since its foundation. Traces of the past from prehispanic times remain, in the form of stone tools and ceramics found in caves in the canyon, to a variety of more recent Colonial-era industrial structures, whose vestiges are overgrown with vegetation. Canals, aqueducts, dams, and the remains of fulling mills bear witness to skillful water management; there are also ruins of an old hacienda and a still functioning dam, both from the 19th century, and the remains of an iron aqueduct, built in the mid 20th century.
While its primary work is natural resource management, the Botanical Gardens also have a social function as a community gathering place for San Miguel de Allende. In addition to various activities that take place through the year, an ongoing program of environmental education combines popular cultural values and practices with new alternative technologies. This program is principally aimed at children and youth of school age, who learn the reasons for and the techniques to carry out environmental conservation.
The welcome presence of out-of-town visitors, both Mexican and foreign, is complemented by a growing number of local users who come to the Botanical Garden for relaxation and recreation. The Nature Park also provides ample recreational space, with facilities for walking, picnics and camping.
The Botanical Gardens of El Charco del Ingenio builds itself day by day as a unique and open space with points of interest for everyone: a natural monument, a wildlife habitat, a botanical collection, a historical site and a recreational space for all the community. As envisioned at its inception, it remains an independent popular initiative (that is, noncommercial and nongovernmental), and to a large degree supported by the contributions of its visitors and friends, who help it to flourish.