Abelia x grandiflora, Callistemon laevis, Coronilla valentina ssp glauca, Escallonia rubra, Grevillea juniperina, Laurus nobilis, Myrtus communis, Nerium oleander, Photinea x faleri, Pistacia lentiscus, Punica granatum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia grahamii... The list of shrub species on the Campolide campus seems difficult to pin down, but it's nothing that Mr José Birra, our gardener on duty, doesn't know off the top of his head.
Translated into common language, the list includes rosemary and lavender, a lemon tree and a pomegranate tree, as well as Easter eggs, myrtles, Christmas berries, and many more... As he explained to us during a guided tour of the green space that surrounds us, to have a garden in balance, "you have to find the perfect combination of plants that flower in winter and spring."
And the truth is that none of this grew by accident. As the recently published report "Paradigm shift in outdoor spaces on university campuses: A case study of the Campolide Campus", carried out under a partnership agreement between NOVA FCT and the Rectory as part of a Master's project in Environmental Engineering, "green spaces are indispensable components of urban environmental quality". Furthermore: "they are associated with greater resilience of urban space, increased climatic comfort, the resilience of cities to extreme events, greater permeability of the soil...". It was therefore decided to create a shrubland area with mainly Mediterranean species, "adapted to the existing climatic conditions and contributing to a high-quality, sustainable and continuous green structure". More recently, we have added a pollinator garden, turning a small strip of land into a small oasis for biodiversity. Margacinhas, lemon thyme, heather, and weeping grass, among others, grow there. Green, more green...
