The new walk that challenges you to be more careful with nature

Very recently, Neuquén has added to its ecotourism circuit a recreational walk which has the ambitious objective of reproducing the indigenous flora of the different regions of the province, in addition to welcoming different plants exotic and attracts more than 80 varieties of birds. A great initiative, with an important educational and conservation function, which attracts more and more visitors and which poses the challenge of strengthening awareness of respect for nature.

Located in a wetland on the south shore of Laguna Elena and close to the Los Canales country club, the Botanical Garden of Plottier it is the only one in the province and number 58 nationally. With its short lifespan, it has already managed to become part of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), the largest network of botanical gardens in the world, a recognition that only six such spaces have achieved in Argentina.

The project started at the end of 2017 with a management plan, prepared by an interdisciplinary group from the University of Flores (UFLO), for the communal land intended for public space. After the signing of an agreement with the municipality of Plottier, on October 9, 2020, the garden became active, although the formal inauguration of it was not made until August 29 due to restrictions due to the pandemic that marked last year. .

The property, with an area of ​​4.16 hectares, has two entrances: one from Av. Plottier 990 and the other from Camping Nepen Hué. Along the two kilometer long trail you can find over a hundred species such as calafate, chin chin, arrayán, palo piche, araucaria, language, free, pellín oak, mañiu female, mayten, cypress de la mountain range, Buttercup, Monte Negro, Ephedra, Chacay, Creole Sauce, Nalca, Pañil and Laura.

“The circuit has different thematic areas. Some are not yet, but they are planned. We have a vegetation sector in the area of ​​the fence, another with plants that are not from Neuquén. We are currently developing one. called Arboretum Andino Patagónico with plants native to the mountain range, brought from El Bolsón. Along the lagoon there will be the riparium forest. We also plan to include fruit trees such as different varieties of apple trees, but we have to see if we can apply it or not. “, said biologist Hernán López, who, in addition to belonging to the UFLO faculty, is curator and member of the coordinating committee of the Botanical Garden, together with Marcos García, Director of the Plottier Economic Development Agency (EDEP).

“The function of the garden is to represent the flora of Neuquén and to have a collection of 167 endemic plant species from all over the province. Endemic plants are those that only grow in one place,” he said. pointed out and added that the introduction of species is done by study, but also by trial and error. Despite a few cases, incorporations thrive not to mention the troublesome relationship with human damage.

“In addition to being a spacing site, it has an educational and scientific role related to the conservation and classification of plants and the study of wetlands,” said López, who, as curator, has for mission to maintain the plants, to classify them, to create an inventory and a bank of genetic material to carry out studies or in the event that it is necessary – for example – to introduce certain species into natural systems. Among its other functions, it is to collaborate with other botanical gardens, to obtain seeds, to lead guided tours, both to the general public – on Saturday afternoon – and to educational establishments.

“Many schools or university institutions make recreational outings but also field studies”, explained the biologist from Mendoza, before noting that since the opening the garden has been visited by more than 400 students of different levels of teaching and 30 thousand people per month based on GPS and Google search logs.

“It is a bird watching site that ranks 38th out of 200 sites in the province of Neuquén. There are black-necked swans, red garter coots, red gusseted coots, painted hens, benteveo, biguá, witch heron, woodpeckers, grilles, duck house, thick-billed macas, white-faced macas, parrots, among other species, ”he said.

Lung development

The Plottier Botanical Garden is in the first phase of development, so it is remarkable that the Argentinian Network of Botanical Gardens actively participates in it, through which it was able to apply and pay half of the membership to be part of the BGCI, an organization which in addition to strengthening the exchange of knowledge, allows access to different types of grants at the international level and to conservation programs for a genus of plants.

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Agustin Martinez

“Thanks to the fact that we have planted certain species of a genus, we can now participate in an international consortium for the conservation of nothofagus, which are plants of the mountain range like lenga or ñire”, he said. he declares.

“The garden is in continuous development and, like any botanical garden, it will take many years to consolidate. Everything is done by lung. These are the first steps, that’s why we need new sources of funding to add thematic areas, strengthen the path with more posters, seats, adding facilities to generate a hibernacle, have an administrative building and enclose the property, ”he said of future plans.

In this sense, López appreciated the work of the volunteers, people of the community who organize themselves to maintain and maintain the garden and who meet every Friday with their work team to develop an action plan within the framework of social appropriation of property. , which is reinforced by the activities carried out with the schools.

Achieve greater awareness and care

Unfortunately, the nascent history of Plottier’s Botanical Garden has several unpleasant chapters linked to irresponsible human actions. After the well-known episode of the group of cyclists who broke the anchor from a point of view by jumping, in recent weeks a fire has put the place in danger.

After recalling that the damage caused by the cyclists came from a formal apology, a donation of plants and the construction of flagstone beds at the entrance to the garden, López warned that many people disregard the posters in which it is indicated that it is forbidden to ride a bicycle or those who are asked not to climb the gates. “In general, people help and respect.

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Agustin Martinez

Unfortunately there are minorities, motivated I don’t know why, who do a lot of damage. There are people who don’t have much empathy and put a chair on plants or steal them. For example, araucarias were growing well and many were stolen. Many cigarettes are also visible. It is about changing consciousness since there are people who do not know how to act in spaces like this and others who do not receive requests or directives well. This is why school visits are important, children quickly grasp information and commit to caring. This is good because many of them later pass them on to their parents, ”he postulated.