Jerusalem Botanical Gardens facts for kids
The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (JBG) is a special place in Jerusalem, Israel. It's located in the Nayot neighborhood, right next to the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This garden is like a living museum, showing off plants from all over the world!
The garden is organized into different sections, each featuring plants from a specific region, like a map of the world made of plants. The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens first opened its doors to the public in 1985. A cool tropical greenhouse opened in 1986, and a section dedicated to plants from South Africa was planted in 1989. The main entrance plaza, a visitors' center, and a restaurant were all built in 1990, making it a welcoming place for everyone.
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A Look Back: The Garden's History
The idea for a botanical garden in Jerusalem started a long time ago. The very first plan was for the National Botanic Garden of Israel on Mount Scopus. Land was bought there in 1926. A professor named Alexander Eig, who led the Botany Department at the Hebrew University, designed this first garden. He wanted it to show all the plants found in the Land of Israel, from Mount Lebanon to the desert. Planting began in 1931. This first botanical garden on Mount Scopus was also the original home of the Biblical Zoo!
In 1948, during a war, it became impossible to reach Mount Scopus and the university campus. So, a decision was made to create a brand new botanical garden. This new garden, the one we are talking about now, was built near the Jewish National and University Library on the new Givat Ram campus in western Jerusalem. It opened in 1954 and had a special collection of cone-bearing trees, called conifers. In 1962, a rocky hill in the garden was planted with conifers from North America. That same year, Michael Avishai became the scientific director. Many of the trees grew from seeds he had collected himself!
Getting enough money was a big challenge for the garden until 1975. That's when a group called the Society of Friends of the Botanical Gardens was created. This group helped the garden become a joint project between the university, the city of Jerusalem, and the Jewish National Fund. A team of scientists was put in charge, and a famous landscape architect named Shlomo Aronson was hired to design the garden's layout. In 1981, the Garden Association was formed, and a board was appointed to manage things. The garden officially opened to the public in 1985. In 1994, it became separate from the Hebrew University and has been managed by the Botanical Garden Association ever since.
Tiny Trees, Big Art: Bonsai Collection
The garden has a special section dedicated to Japan. Here, you can find over 150 bonsai trees. Bonsai are miniature trees that are carefully grown and shaped to look like full-sized trees, but in a tiny form. This collection is one of the largest groups of bonsai trees in the world! It's amazing to see these tiny, ancient-looking trees.
Feathered Friends: Birds of the Garden
If you love birds, you're in for a treat! Birdwatchers have spotted 46 different kinds of birds that visit the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens throughout the year. It's a wonderful place to watch and learn about local bird species.
Journey Through Time: The Bible Path
The garden also features a unique "Bible Path" that is 500 meters long. This path is planted with most of the 70 types of plants that scientists believe are mentioned in the Bible. It's like walking through a living history book, seeing plants that have been important for thousands of years.
Protecting Nature: Endangered Species
One of the most important jobs of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens is to help protect plants that are in danger of disappearing forever. The garden acts like a "living gene bank." This means they grow and save seeds and plants of endangered species from Israel and the surrounding region. By doing this, they help make sure these special plants can continue to exist for future generations.
See also
- List of botanical gardens in Israel
- National Botanic Garden of Israel
- Wildlife of Israel
- Tourism in Israel
