About the project
The Jerusalem & University Botanical Gardens occupy a 60-acre site set between the Knesset, the Hebrew University Givat Ram campus and the Israel Museum. The gardens were created jointly by the Hebrew University, the Jewish National Fund and the Jerusalem Foundation as a living museum of plants and an outdoor laboratory for scientific research. Planning for the gardens at this location began in earnest in 1975 (general planning had been going on since as early as 1962). The gardens were opened to the public in 1985. Since then, the Jerusalem Foundation has supported the development of additional botanical sections, including Protea Walk (an area lined with the South African protea bush), the Atlas Mountain Range & Lookout, and the Mediterranean Basin and Alpine sections. It also has supported construction of the Dvorsky Visitors’ Center, the Hank Greenspun Plaza, the Joseph & Margaret Bloom Plaza, the European Lake and other structures, plazas and water features. Sculpture located at the gardens includes Two Stones by Brazilian sculptor Fernando Estarque Casas. The Foundation also has supported educational and recreational projects at the gardens that range from visits by schoolchildren to a gardening club for disabled war veterans.
