| The Viveros of Coyoacán
is a working nursery and a not-so-secret garden in the heart of
Mexico City.
MIGUEL ANGEL DE QUEVEDO
This park was established in the early 1900s by Mexican naturalist
Miguel Angel de Quevedo. A monument to one of Mexico's foremost
conservationists stands guard at the entrance on Progresso and Universidad
streets.
But who was Miguel Angel de Quevedo?
According to Lane Simonian, author of Defending
the Land of the Jaguar, Quevedo was Mexico's 'Apostle of the
Tree.'
Quevedo's first job in Mexico was as a supervisor
of drainage works in the Valley of Mexico. He developed many projects
as a response to the observation of Alexander von Humbold's that
deforestation was responsible for the Mexico City's floods. Reforestation
would be key to reverse this crisis.
Initially funded in 1908, the Viveros of Coyoacán
was the centerpiece of a national nursery system producing 2.4 million
trees by 1914.
If you find the Otafuku statue, read the inscription:
La armonía reside en proteger la vida de la tierra.
NURSERY
A working nursery, young seedlings are cultivated distribution
throughout the city.
WILDLIFE
For a city park, Viveros attracts a fairly large and diverse amount
of animals -- some wild, some annoying. This garden is one of the
best places for bird
watching in the city.
RUNNING PATH
A 2.1-kilometer dirt path winds around the park.
The path is used by joggers of varying speeds and is marked every
100 meters with signs put up by Mexico's Secretariat
of Environment.
The educational trail (sendero didactico) also has Spanish-language
signs about biodiversity and tree names.
You'll also see numerous black squirrels. Remember not to feed
the animals ... no matter how persistent they are.
MATADOR SCHOOL
In the center of the garden is an area used for bull-fighting lessons.
Future matadors learn their moves. Many of the regulars can be seen
at the Plaza México, the country's largest bullring. You
won't find the bulls though. Instead students face off against wheelbarrows
mounted with horns. It's worth a look and there's no blood.
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