National Botanic Garden of Israel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids National Botanic Garden of Israel |
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| Location | Mount Scopus, Jerusalem |
| Created | 1931 |
| Operated by | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Status | Open all year |
The National Botanic Garden of Israel (also known as the Montague Lamport Botanical Garden) is a special place for plants. It's located on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, right on the campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This garden is home to about 950 different types of plants! Almost half of these plants (40%) grow wild in nature.
Contents
Exploring the Garden
This garden was the very first botanical garden in the Land of Israel. It's a place where you can find and learn about all the wild plants that grow in Israel and the wider Middle East. The garden is in the northern part of the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus.
Around the garden, you can see many ancient burial caves from the time of the Second Temple period. There's also a small amphitheater in the western part of the garden.
The garden is more than just a collection of plants. It's also an ecological nature reserve and a national park. This means it helps protect nature. Inside, you'll find a Natural Teaching Center, the biggest botanical library in Israel, and even a weather station. On the western side, there's a walking trail named after the famous Israeli writer Avigdor Hameiri. At the start of the trail, you can see a stone tablet with his well-known poem, "On the summit of Mount Scopus."
A Look Back: The Garden's History
The garden started in 1931. Two botanists, Otto Warburg and Alexander Eig, created it on the Hebrew University campus. Alexander Eig was a very important person for the garden. He taught at the university and planted the very first tree there. He also started a plan to protect local plants. He even collected plants from countries like Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon.
This garden was also the first home for the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo! The zoo was here from 1947 to 1950. During a tough time in 1948, when there wasn't much food in Jerusalem, zookeepers had to find creative ways to feed the animals. Some animals sadly didn't make it, and less dangerous ones had to be set free. In 1950, with help from the United Nations, the remaining animals were safely moved to a new location in the city.
For 19 years, the garden was not cared for. This was because the Mount Scopus campus was in an area controlled by Israel but surrounded by Jordan. In 1954, a new botanical garden, the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, opened in western Jerusalem.
Work to bring the Mount Scopus garden back to life began in 1980, and it reopened in 1988. It's special because it was the first garden in the world to be called an "ecological garden." This means it's designed to help protect nature. Many of the plants here are very rare or can no longer be found growing wild in nature.
Ancient Burial Caves
The Cave of Nicanor is an old burial cave found in 1902. It dates back to the Second Temple period. An old writing inside the cave shows it was the grave of "Nicanor," who made the doors for the First Temple in Jerusalem.
In 1934, the remains of Leon Pinsker were moved from Odessa and reburied in the Nicanor cave. This was the idea of Menachem Ussishkin, who hoped Mount Scopus would become a special burial place for national leaders. However, Ussishkin, who died in 1941, was the only other person buried there. After Israel became a state in 1948, a new national leaders' burial site was created on Mount Herzl. This was partly because Mount Scopus became an isolated area surrounded by Jordanian-controlled land.
See also
- List of botanical gardens in Israel
- List of endemic flora of Israel
- Wildlife of Israel
Images for kids
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A view of the National Botanic Garden of Israel.
