The Mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has presented the guidelines for the ideas competition to create the Botanical Garden, with its main location at Ses Cases des Retiro and an urban site at Parc de ses Vies.
The Palma City Council has given the green light to the ideas competition for the future Botanical Garden, a project that starts with two specific locations: Ses Cases des Retiro, in the Bellver forest, and Parc de ses Vies. This was announced on Wednesday by Mayor Jaime Martínez Llabrés, following the approval of the guidelines at the Governing Board.
The initiative, presented at a press conference, stipulates that Ses Cases des Retiro will be the main site, covering nearly 49,000 square metres, while Parc de ses Vies, with around 50,000, will serve as the urban site. Both spaces will be part of a broader system that the council refers to as the Mediterranean Botanical System of Palma.
The project does not stop at these two areas. The guidelines foresee the gradual incorporation of new specialized sub-sites in other points of environmental interest in the municipality. The ultimate goal is to create a network of connected botanical spaces that will make the city a reference in the conservation, research, and dissemination of Mediterranean flora.
During the presentation, Martínez Llabrés emphasized that this is not a static project: “Today we are not presenting a project designed to be inaugurated and remain unchanged for decades. We are presenting a project conceived to evolve with the city, incorporating new spaces, new ecosystems, and new functions as Palma continues to develop its green infrastructure.”
The mayor has defined the future Botanical Garden as “a scientific, environmental, cultural, and educational infrastructure designed to conserve natural heritage, promote research, disseminate knowledge about Mediterranean flora and ecosystems, and bring nature closer to all citizens.”
One of the most relevant aspects is the recovery of degraded spaces. According to the council, the project will increase biodiversity, improve Palma's climate resilience, and move towards a “greener city better prepared to face future challenges.”
49,000 square metres for the main site
The main site, at Ses Cases des Retiro, will integrate a Botanical Garden and Metropolitan Forest Interpretation Centre, with exhibition spaces on Mediterranean flora and the historical memory of the place. There will also be an educational and training area, with classrooms for school programmes and botanical training courses.
The programme also includes a technical and scientific area, with botanical research laboratories and a herbarium, as well as a horticultural production area with a propagation greenhouse, workshop, and storage facilities. For visitors, there will be a reception area, a small shop or scientific bookstore, and lockers, in addition to administration and management spaces.
The guidelines contemplate the possibility of distributing part of this programme across other buildings in the complex if necessary. The Bellver forest will become part of the Botanical Garden as a living collection aimed at the conservation, research, and dissemination of the Mediterranean forest ecosystem.
The former agricultural terraces in the area will allow for the establishment of 'ex situ' botanical collections, while simultaneously recovering a traditional agricultural landscape of great heritage value. These actions are complemented by other ongoing projects, such as the comprehensive rehabilitation of Ses Cases des Retiro, currently up for tender for 1.9 million euros.
Improvements to access to Castell de Bellver and the recovery of its forest environment are also planned, with an investment of 3.2 million euros. Both actions, funded by Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) funds, will consolidate the site as the main location of the future Botanical Garden.
Parc de ses Vies, gateway to the botanical system
On its part, Parc de ses Vies will become the first urban site, conceived as a functional extension of Ses Cases des Retiro. This space will house urban botanical collections, outreach and environmental education activities, and will serve as the access point to the entire Mediterranean Botanical System of Palma.
This park will represent the five major Mediterranean regions of the world: the Mediterranean basin — southern Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean islands — California, central Chile, southwestern Australia, and the Western Cape region of South Africa.
The needs programme for Parc de ses Vies includes visitor services, with reception areas, a café, a small shop or scientific bookstore, and lockers; service and maintenance spaces with changing rooms and facilities for staff; and an outdoor amphitheatre with a capacity for 200 people.
Technical infrastructures are also planned, such as a water reservoir for irrigation and composting areas, the recovery and renaturalisation of the section of the Na Bàrbara stream that runs through this area, and the urbanization of the green connector that will link this space with the rest of the city.
The project, as the council has indicated, will be rolled out in phases. The presentation of the guidelines for the ideas competition is the first step for technical teams to submit their proposals. Once the winning design is selected, the project will be drafted and the works executed.
For the residents of Palma, this botanical garden will mean a new space for leisure and knowledge, as well as an environmental improvement in two highly frequented areas. Parc de ses Vies, in particular, will gain biodiversity and will feature an amphitheatre for cultural activities. The execution timelines have not been detailed, but the ideas competition is the first step towards making it a reality.
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