Several years in the making, with an anticipated soft opening in 2015, the new Royal Botanic Garden aims to showcase Jordan's surprisingly varied flora and highlight best practices in habitat conservation. The site, which overlooks the King Talal Dam, spreads over 180 hectares, with a variation of 300m of elevation, allowing it to reproduce Jordan's main habitat zones – pine forest, oak forest, juniper forest, the Jordan Valley and freshwater wadi. A large display botanic garden is also planned.
The RBG aims to become a key scientific research foundation, with a seed bank and herbarium (set up with the help of Kew Gardens, its virtual version can be browsed online), as well teaching organic farming and permaculture techniques. The RBG also has a large community outreach to local farming communities. Volunteers who wish to work at the garden are welcomed. Check the website for details and more on the exact opening date.
