Campo Alegre Botanic Park in Porto: 13 hectares of sheer feel good space

Campo Alegre Botanic Park, in Porto, offers circa 13 hectares of sheer feel good space, crowned with varied tree species and flowers. This is another fresh take within the green spaces the city of Porto abundantly offers. And we could all use some added wellness. Enjoy!

Porto Botanic Garden in Campo Alegre encompasses an area of circa 13 hectares, as it currently incorporates the gardens of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), namely the Jardim Silvestre, the Jardim Mediterrânico, the Jardim do Fosso and the Pinhal dos Cedros; also relevant are the gardens of the Casa Primo Madeira and the garden Burmester, that are the property of the University of Porto.

Each of the gardens at FCUP now offer informative signposting and, soon, there will be plates to identify the species. The project was carried out in the end of 2020 and it was 95% funded by the Environmental Fund, in the amount of 63.510 euros, with 5% being funded by the FCUP.

In total, there are circa 500 identified species that integrate the green areas at the Faculty of Sciences, and another 1500 that integrate the Jardim Botânico. These spaces are now filled with new collections, as is the case, for example, of the Jardim Silvestre, in the enveloping area of the FCUP’s Biology building, the Pinhal dos Cedros, next to the department of Mathematics, that display a new collection of camellias.

In turn, the Jardim Mediterrânico, in front of the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto, features carob trees, laurel, and fig trees, alongside olive and apple trees.

The project also targeted the assessment of trees at risk, at the Jardim Burmester, with the planting of new trees and plants and the eradication of invasive species, as well.

“We wish to make this university centre the first element of meaning regarding a botanic park that may extend to the Faculty of Arts and Architecture; (…) we applied our knowledge of the city’s flora and we came up with a rustic and ornamental space that features not only indigenous species but also the Japanese camellia”, explained to UP News Portal, Paulo Farinha Marques, curator of green spaces at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto.