Kimberley Mannion
MADRID’S Royal Botanic Gardens have been given a makeover with investment from fashion brand Chanel.
The design house restored the Botanic Gardens’ rose garden in 2021, which is home to 140 different types of roses, and this year will fund the introduction of nine new species of rose as well as pay for new courses within the gardens.
The gardens are viewed as a key ‘green lung’ for the capital, helping improve air quality and the lives of local residents.
Thanks to Chanel, courses on the ‘Installation and maintenance of gardens and green areas’ and the ‘management and maintenance of trees and ornamental plants’ will train up young people between the ages of 18 to 24 for careers in the field.
Another two courses will be funded on medicinal and aromatic plants, and a perfume olfactory workshop in the gardens’ Quercus school and workshop area.
The Royal Botanic Gardens have recently fully reopened after several points of interest were restored including the gates, arbours and 30 of the gardens’ fountains.
Before work began almost a year ago after areas classified as Assets of Cultural Interest (BICs), such as the Puerta del Rey and sections of Paseo del Prado were found to be in states of deterioration.
Funding to repair the green site came from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda’s program for Historical Heritage Conservation, along with funding from the government’s Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
The Gardens have been a feature of UNESCO’s World Heritage List since July 2021, and those involved in its management emphasise its significance to science and botany in Spain.
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