Site Visit | Nature Design Haiti
Photo Source : https://www.facebook.com/Nuturedesign/
Founded in 2014, Nature Design is a landscaping company specialized in the creation of botanical gardens, forests, ecological parks, tourist sites, public places and the restoration of degraded areas. Their mission is to use “science and art to create a better environment for a better life.” On site, you can find a wide collection of plants native to Haiti, cultivated to showcase the possibilities of design in nature from small to large scale projects. Some of the collections include: palms, ornamentals, fruit trees, topiaries, cacti, and annuals. After the earthquake in 2010, Haiti faced many losses in environmental, economic and natural resources. The state of degradation is still prevalent today as the government works towards rebuilding sites for cultural and economic investment. However, the biggest reoccurring issue is the use of non-native plants in new development projects. William Cinea, founder, created Nature Design to begin growing, researching, and conserving native and endemic plants for distribution in local projects. His goal is to use the ecological, landscaping, and botanical skills of his team to create an environment that not only is unique to the island but also resilient to climate change and natural disasters.
“ As a company we strive for three things : 1) How we can use the plants we are producing and knowledge in landscaping to make our cities more green. 2) Reforestation - As I am a forester, I am aware of the degradation of the country. So at Nature Design, we produce the plants to establish forests and 3) Restoration - We have very important ecosystems in the area that are constantly at risk of destruction. So, we would like to use our knowledge of the environment to reinforce habitats in the area to help other systems grow. As a whole, Nature Design incorporates science from our plant and conservation research and gains design inspiration from the natural world around us. We hope to create greener and faster projects for development in Haiti.” -William Cinea, Founder of Nature Design Haiti
Photos
Unfortunately, my camera died this day. So the pictures below are from Nature Design's Facebook page shared in the link above. One of the most interesting qualities of this site are the endless rows of unique native/endemic plants. Fields of flowering plants lined with trees, bushes and topiary alike; very cool.
