2018 Botany for Change Award
The Urban Garden of the future on the theme of Mediterranean biodiversity
In 2018, Klorane Botanical Foundation invited botany, horticulture, architecture and landscape design students to apply their skills to building our urban future.
The winning project was permanently installed in Marseille, in the Prado Seaside Park, on May 19th.
Mediterranean biodiversity
The Mediterranean basin is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, with 25,000 plant species, equivalent to 10% of the world’s known plants.
Today, this heritage is more threatened than ever by the scale and pace of environmental changes, namely urban densification.
Garden of the Nymphs
Mathilde and Nicolas crafted their green creation according to two basic principles:
- A garden that houses plants from all over the world, to do away with the assumption that the Mediterranean garden is inaccessible, consumes large quantities of energy and water, and requires the soil to be laboriously prepared. The plant palette was selected for its ruggedness and adaptability to the climate.
- A strong ecological dimension thanks to an ingenious system of basins, to limit the need for watering and reduce water wastage. This ancestral technique makes it possible to grow plants that store enough water to last a lifetime, by simply watering them liberally from April to October of a single year!
Botany workshops
During the inaugural weekend of the Garden of the Nymphs, a Do It Yourself plant decoration workshop was offered, as were herbarium workshops for children.
The jury of the Botany for Change award
Our jury of botany experts came together in late March to select the winning project.
Alain BARATON
Head Gardener of the Grand Parc du Château de Versailles and the Domaine National du Trianon / Author of numerous botanical publications.
Jean MUS
Lanscaper
Gad WEIL
Artist of outstanding events
Véronique MURE
Botanist
Claude BOUCHERON
SOUTH Territorial Division Head of Park and Garden Management at Marseille City Hall
ERIC CHIRON
Lanscaper
FLORENCE GUILLAUME
Director of Klorane Botanical Foundation
The winning students
Our warmest congratulations to Nicolas Delporte and Mathilde Clément (ENSP de Marseille), the winners of the 2018 edition of the #BotanyForChange award for their project “The Garden of the Nymphs”!
