San Juan Botanical Garden
The San Juan Botanical Garden, also known as the Botanical Garden of the University of Puerto Rico, is located in the Caribbean city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. This lush 300-acre (1.2 km2) “urban garden” of native and exotic flora serves as a laboratory for the study, conservation and enrichment of plants, trees, flowers, grasses and many other plants. Seventy-five acres are landscaped and open to the general public as well as researchers.
The entrance is located off the south side of the intersection of Highway 1 and Road 847 in Río Piedras. The “Bosque Urbano del Nuevo Milenio” or (Urban Forest of the New Millennium), a project for the conservation and growth of the urban forest, is on the eastern side of the Botanical Garden.
The botanical garden, proposed in 1959, was endorsed by the Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico on 12 September 1969. On the initiative of Mr. Arturo Roque and supported by the President of the University, Dr. Jaime Benítez, the Botanical Garden was inaugurated on March 10, 1971.
Administratively, it functions as a part of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus. Its international identification code is UPR. Fred Schaffner is the director.
The Garden was partially opened to the public from 1971 until 1989. However, in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, the Garden was closed for reconstruction until it could reopen for visitors in 1991. The Garden's botanical collections, lakes, falls and shelters are well connected by paths, roads and walkways, allowing the visitor to know and better appreciate the value of native and tropical flora.
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