According to the director of the botanical garden Magdalena Chytrá, should the Faculty of Science take the victory, the prize money will be used for the construction of ponds and wetland areas for endangered species on the list of the Working group for gene pools of the Union of Botanical Gardens of the Czech Republic.
Titled in Czech Ekologická opatření v botanické zahradě v Brně (Environmental measures in the botanical garden in Brno), it encompasses five individual measures recently implemented by the botanical garden. They include cabling for the fountain and its pump; the installation of a green roof of the faculty’s bike storage with species from the nearby abandoned quarry in Kotlářská street; the construction of a rainwater retention tank for three greenhouses and adjacent buildings (to be used to water the plants in the greenhouses), or the implementation of the mosaic grass mowing technique, less frequent mowing and higher growth. The last measure pertains to more thorough maintenance of trees and bushes on the premises.
This project succeeded in a competition of 167 environmental projects. “It was planned to be based on earlier environmental measures. These five measures the project includes are already being implemented in the current operation of our botanical garden. It focuses on the education of the general public and the presentation of potential changes which basically anyone can attempt to do. We want to be a role model proving the point that anyone is capable of these measures, people and institutions alike,” Magdalena Chytrá explains.
There is only one step to be made: the botanical garden must defeat its five opponents. It will require the joining of forces of the academic world of Masaryk University, and their members’ votes. The voting is open until 20 August, and it includes the opportunity to win valuable prizes. “It will be tough competition to beat, but the fact alone that we are finalists is rewarding. The promotion of environmental projects is our big goal. We would be able to do a lot more with the money thanks to the votes from our students and employees,” Chytrá notes, adding that the prize money will not cover the funding of all plans, but it will still be a welcome contribution.
All six finalists will be presented at Ekofestival in České Budějovice on 8 June. The winner will be announced in the former Zbrojovka factory in Brno on 31 August.