Portugal’s first sustainable garden takes shape in Benfica
21/1/2012

Portugal’s first sustainable community garden was inaugurated last week in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood, Benfica, giving new life to a spot previously occupied by abandoned building that was frequented by what Lisbon Town Hall called “a certain marginality.”

Located on Rua Actor Nascimento Fernandes, the Bairro de Santa Cruz de Benfica Garden was officially inaugurated last Thursday at 11.15am, in the presence of Lisbon Mayor António Costa, the Councillor for the Environment and Green Spaces, José Sá Fernandes, and the Mayor of Benfica Parish, Inês Drummond.

Designed by agronomic engineer Francisco Manso, the large space is said to have a special meaning to the locals, in particularly residents of the Santa Cruz neighbourhood as the garden emerged from the demolition of a building which for years was used by a “a certain marginality” of society and had become a cause of insecurity for the surrounding population.

With the support of Lisbon council local residents, in collaboration with the founders of website Ruralidades, which is dedicated to nature, gardening and vegetable-growing, the Santa Cruz garden will be the first garden in Portugal to achieve a certificate of sustainability from the World Sustainability Society (WSS).

The project was distinguished for its choice of vegetables, many of which are indigenous to Lisbon, water usage, the use of recyclable materials, and volunteering are but a few aspects that earned the garden its accolade.

http://www.theportugalnews.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=1148-25