Botanical Garden

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The National Botanical Garden Foundation

The NBGF was created by President James Michel in December 2009 through an Act as a corporate body with the mandate of developing, managing, maintaining and promoting the growth of Gardens nationwide as well as providing for matters connected herewith.
It has been operational since February 2010 and currently employs a workforce of about 90 staff working at 3 main locations i.e. the National Botanical Garden at Mont Fleuri, the State House Grounds in Victoria and the Biodiversity centre at Barbarons.

The National Botanical Garden

History

Established in 1901 by a Mauritian agronomist, Mr. Rivalz Dupont during a time of renewed interest in agriculture, the garden was initially used as a testing ground for introducing various plants of commercial value collected throughout the tropics. Timber trees, palms, spices, fruit trees, aromatic plants and any other plants deemed useful to the colony were tested and those successful were later sold to help boost agriculture and provide useful materials.

The Botanical gardens under the NBGF

Today the 15 acre garden is a National Heritage site providing a quiet, green getaway from the busy town centre just a stone’s throw away. The garden has developed into one of Victoria’s main tourist attractions as it has evolved from its role as an agricultural station to a public park and even today it is still changing as it strives to become a leader in ex-situ conservation. This involves collecting specimens and replanting in a new environment so as to ensure the continuity of the species.
Among plans for the development of the Botanical gardens the NBGF has initiated a number of projects to transform the gardens into an outdoor living classroom which can be used by all to learn about the intricate relationship between humans and nature.

Main attractions

Animals

Amongst the many attractions in the Botanical garden one of the must stop points is the corner dedicated to the oldest inhabitants of Seychelles, a collection of giant tortoises from the world heritage site of Aldabra. These majestic creatures can live up to over 100years and populated our islands well before the first settlers arrived.
The garden also showcases a collection of terrapins locally known as torti soupap.
The vast forest area is well frequented by birds such as the endemic Seychelles Bulbul, Seychelles Blue pigeon, the Madagascar fody just to name a few.
It also serves as home and a source of food for hundreds of fruit bats and insects such as the endemic Brown eyed gecko.

Plants

The most iconic of Seychelles endemic plants is the Lodoicea Maldivica more commonly known as the coco de mer. Once believed to be from the Maldives islands as the nut was first seen floating in the nearby seas the tree was not known until the Seychelles islands were discovered hence the myth about a tree growing beneath the sea or coco de mer in French.
Besides boasting the world’s largest seed this plant is the subject of numerous beliefs such as it being an aphrodisiac because of its shape as well as male and female trees moving towards each other during stormy nights to mate.
 

Cannonball tree

One of the most eye-catching exotic plants found in the gardens, the Couroupita guianensis or Cannonball tree as it is commonly known is believed to be native to South America, India and the Carribean islands.
The trees are grown extensively in Shiva temples in India.It is sacred to the Hindus as the beautiful petals resemble the hood of Naga a snake sacred to the religion.
It is also very prominent in traditional medicine as it possesses antibiotic, antifungal, antiseptic and analgesic qualities. The trees are used to cure colds and stomach aches. Juice made from the leaves is used to cure skin diseases, and shamans of South America have even used tree parts for treating malaria. The inside of the fruit can disinfect wounds and young leaves ease toothache. The fruit emits an unpleasant odor and can be used as an insect repelent just by rubbing it to the skin or clothes.

The NBGF ecoschool programme

With the rapid evolution towards a technologically advanced era a significant drop has been recorded in students enrolling for environment related professions as well as careers in agriculture, hence the Eco-school Holiday Activities programme (ESHA) was created with the aim of reversing such a trend. The ESHA also has the aim of using the therapeutic properties of an outdoor environment to curb the increasing behavioral problems of our children.
Children come to the garden from 8am to 4pm on where various activities such as bird watching, recycling, visits, healthy eating, discovering the different flora and fauna found in the gardens through interaction and various other artistic activities to as to help them learn to appreciate nature as well as support national environmental initiatives while having fun.

Adoption campaigns

Amongst its initiatives to help maintain garden and get the general public more involved in the conservation efforts the NBGF has started a programme where members of the public can adopt some of the flora and fauna found in the botanical garden. Adoption comes at a small fee which helps the NBGF provide care for the chosen plant or animal.

Adoption of tortoises

This is an opportunity to help care for the giant tortoises found in the Botanical garden, for a fee a person can adopt one of the said tortoises for a period of 1year or 10years.A certificate is provided and the animal can be visited or seen daily via email.

Adoption of plants

This involves adopting a tree of your choice in the botanical garden, once again a certificate is provided and adoption can go up to 10years.Adoption of trees can be done in various categories, individually or as a family, for schools, corporations and many more. The said plant can be visited or viewed daily via email.

The Biodiversity centre

Situated at Barbarons the Biodiversity Centre started to be implemented in mid 1998, it covers an area of about 19 hectares. Its main aims are to preserve the diversity of the endemic species of the fragile ecosystem of Seychelles and to provide a favorable location for ex-situ conservation for the plant species. It also serves as a nursery for the NBGFs propagation efforts as well as providing an onsite variety of endemic plants for scientific research and promotes our medicinal plants.
 
It also features a corner dedicated to plants from Aldabra as well as a breathtaking palm forest with featuring the 5 endemic palms of Seychelles i.e. the Coco de mer, Palmiste, Latanier Latte, Latanier Latte and Latanier Hauban.
Another interesting part of the Biodiversity centre is   an Arboretum for VIP tree planting which is already operational and features Coco de mer plants planted by President Michel as well as His Excellency Vice President Rangoolum of Mauritius during their respective visits last year.
Once fully operational the Biodiversity centre is expected to host visitors on a daily basis as well provide a number of tourism related facilities such as a museum, spa and artisanal kiosks among many others.