No. 24 - Its Gran Canaria Magazine

22
GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA EDICIÓN 24
70 years as the greatest botanical garden in Spain
Gran Canaria offers, among its many attractions,
one of the most striking and amazing refuges of
flora in the Macaronesian Region, the territory
made up of the islands of the Azores, Madeira, Salvajes,
the Canaries, Cape Verde and a strip of the
northwest coast of Africa, bathed by the Canary
Current. This natural enclave of inspiration and
worldwide recognition became the Viera y Clavijo
Botanical Garden, the largest in Spain and containing
the largest genetic bank of flora, created
by Erik Ragnor Svensson (1910-1973) at the request
of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria. The Jardín Canario,
as it is known to the islanders, is a worldwide botanical
symbol, which at the end of last year celebrated
its 70th anniversary.
The vegetation on display in this garden showcases
the maturity of a project carried out with the
utmost dedication from the very beginning, by
Sventenius himself, together with a team of collaborators
and workers. The flora of this garden
has been enriched over the years, but there is a
large part that was put there by its creators, growing
steadily while some of the figures left their
memory in the form of sculpture. Others contemplate
the space now as retirees, aware that their
work comes to life and has become a symbol of
the community and international renown and as
an attraction that is the subject of tours enjoyed
by thousands of visitors 365 days a year.
This year sees the commemoration of the figure
of Eric Ragnor Sventenius, the architect of the
largest botanical garden in Spain and one of the
largest seed banks of endemic species, the largest
in the Macaronesian region. Eric, or Enrique,
as he was known on the islands, was just another
Canary Islander. Before coming to our island,
he travelled around Europe, North Africa and the
Mediterranean islands. In Spain he continued his
training for three years at the Blanes botanical
school in Girona, where the current director of the
Botanical Garden, Juli Caujapé, began his studies.
He took over from David Bramwell, who in turn
took over the reins of the Botanical Garden following
the death of Sventenius.
In 1943 Sventenius arrived in Tenerife to carry out
research on Macaronesian flora, without knowing
that he would be putting Canary Island botany on
the worldwide scientific map. He recovered, recorded
and gave names to numerous species of
flora that had not been described until they were
found by him. His relevance as a researcher would
give him international prestige, and he became a
household name, cited in thousands of studies,
symposia and congresses.
"
"The Jardín Canario,
as it is known to the
islanders, is a worldwide
botanical symbol"
His idea of creating the Jardín Canario with flora
native to the islands won the backing of the Institute
of Agronomic Research, but in Tenerife he
did not get the financial support that Matías Vega
Guerra finally offered him here, thanks to the efforts
of Jaime O'Shanahan, Juan Nogales and Fernando
Navarro. In fact, O'Shanahan had family
ties with Lotti Schrader, the woman Sventenius
had agreed to marry, but a tragic accident prevented
the marriage from taking place.
The choice of the Guiniguada ravine, close to the
capital of Gran Canaria, as the site for the Canary
Garden led to the start of work in 1952, with the
layout of paths and the use of the microclimates
that this slope and ravine bed offered. Today,
some seven decades later, the garden glows in a
truly wonderful splendour, with specimens of flora
that have grown into part of the landscape, of our
space and heritage, thanks to many people and
personal circumstances, but mainly to the vision
and environmental commitment of Eric Sventenius.
This year, a visit to the Canary Garden has the
added attraction of recognising the figure of one
of its main precursors. His dream really took root
here.