The Olarizu Botanical Garden began with an initial area of 7 hectares, that will be expanded to the 50 hectares planned in the project. It is located near the city of Vitoria in Olarizu, province of Álava.
The Olarizu botanical garden began as a project of the Vitoria City Council in 2000, in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country, but The neighbors whose land was going to be expropriated filed a lawsuitwhich has delayed the project.
The Olarizu Botanical Garden
This municipal resource carries 17 years working in the conservation of plant biodiversityeducation and enjoyment of the natural heritage in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The Governing Council of the Center for Environmental Studies (CEA) has agreed to contract technical assistance for the Preparation of a Master Plan for the Olarizu Botanical Garden 2026-2030 to the company Biodiversity Node.
The preparation of this Master Plan responds to the intention of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council to evolve and give greater development to the Olarizu Botanical Garden, assessing the possibility of providing it with its own legal personality, incorporating other entities into the project and providing it with more resources and a more solid structure.
Live Plant Collections
Since the first plantations began in 2007, the Olarizu Botanical Garden has been developing to become a reference for the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz regarding environmental education, the conservation of plant biodiversity and the promotion of botanical research.
Currently the Botanical Garden It has three collections of different live plants. On the one hand, the ‘Arboretum of the forests of Europe’, with a representation of the plant communities typical of the forests and scrublands of the different regions of the continent. On the other hand, the ‘Collection of aquatic vegetation from the different latitudes of Europe’ and also the ‘Collection of the vegetation of the hills and rocks of Alava’.
Those responsible are also working on the collection of useful plants, which will be located around the ruins and orchards of the old farmhouse located next to Campo de los Palacios. On the other hand, in its laboratory, the Olarizu Botanical Garden preserves a extensive collection of wild plant seeds in its germplasm bank and a herbarium and sperm library.
It also has a wide educational offer aimed at both the school public and the general public, which aims to raise awareness, train and activate citizens in the conservation of biodiversity plant and in the implementation of adaptation measures to climate change through nature-based solutions.
During the last year, a great step has been taken with the conditioning of the accesses to the Garden and the renewal of the interpretive signage of the different collections. In addition, the creation of a plant labyrinth that will continue the tradition of using these gardening pieces in classical gardens.
Since its creation Within the framework of the Vitorian Green Belt, the Olarizu Botanical Garden has been a key project promoted by the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council, which has joined associations and work networks among which the Ibero-Macaronesian Association of Botanical Gardens (AIMJB), the Spanish Society of Plant Conservation Biology (SEBICOP) and the Spanish Network of Germplasm Banks (REDBAG). In addition, he has participated in different research and conservation projects.