A municipal nursery at Las Cuadras park in Chillogallo, southern Quito, holds around 40,000 trees at various stages of growth, all destined for the city's parks, roundabouts and public plazas.
The site is one of three nurseries described as the capital's green lungs. The other two are in Cununyacu, in the Valle de los Chillos, and in Caupichu, also in the south of the city.
María Belén Calvache, director of Natural Areas at the Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Movilidad y Obras Públicas (Epmmop), said each nursery has a distinct role. Cununyacu produces ornamental plants, palms and shrubs for public planters and also houses a seed bank. Caupichu handles ornamental production, while Las Cuadras is dedicated entirely to trees.
At the seed bank, staff monitor fully grown trees and collect seeds as they fall. Those seeds must meet basic requirements before germination begins, Calvache said, with species including nogal, pumamaqui, eugenias, arrayán and guaba.
Seedlings grow at the bank until they reach 10 to 20 centimetres, a process that takes eight to twelve months. They are then transferred to Las Cuadras, where they can remain for up to seven more years before being cleared for planting. To qualify for a public space, a tree must stand between 50 centimetres and two metres tall and have a trunk five centimetres in diameter.
Once planted, trees are fitted with wooden support stakes tied to the trunk to guide straight growth. The stakes are removed after roughly eighteen months, once the tree has established itself on site.
The municipality plants between 500 and 600 trees per month depending on available space. A census of all planted trees is under way; Calvache estimated the current total could exceed 25,000 to 30,000, with a long-term goal of one million.
Each tree helps lower temperatures, combat heat waves, produce oxygen and support birds and pollinators, Calvache said. Native species including pumamaqui, nogal and guaba have also been used to reforest areas scorched by forest fires.
Vandalism is a persistent problem. Calvache said trees in public spaces are kicked, stripped of branches and leaves, and struck by footballs before they can develop fully.
The nurseries are open to the public Monday to Friday from 8am to 2pm, with appointments available through the municipality's website.
