Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, inaugurated the historic Lahboul park in Meknès on Tuesday, which has undergone renovation work.
On this occasion, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa unveiled the commemorative plaque before following explanations about the heritage of the main park in Meknès, which has regained its splendor after a complete renovation coordinated by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment in partnership with the Urban Commune of Meknès, the General Directorate of Local Authorities, the Prefecture of Meknès, the Fès-Meknès Regional Council, and the National Agency for Water and Forests.
Her Royal Highness also received explanations about the fountain and the séguia, the fountain system, an ancestral irrigation system of the city of Meknès and the lily pond, as well as the bird species in the aviary, the sports area, and the space reserved for chess games, along with the modules “Fountain-Water,” “History of the Columns,” “Ecosystem Riddle,” “Ecosystems/Aromatic Plants,” “Plant Biodiversity,” and the mobile application Lahboul, accessible via the link https://jardinlahboul.ma/
Founded in 1906, the Lahboul park, where the residents of Meknès will enjoy walking and resting, is a large five-hectare space in the heart of the city, shaded by century-old trees and palm trees, with beautiful terraces created on the slopes of the Boufekrane river, giving it the appearance of a suspended park.
The last terrace, at its lowest point, offers a breathtaking view over 400 meters long of the valley at the bottom of which the waters of the river flow.
The rehabilitation of this park, which aims to be an inclusive space also providing a platform for sports activities, was carried out in accordance with one of the essential principles of the Foundation in its renovations: to respect the history of the place and the intentions of its creators. Thus, the careful arrangement of the terraces has been respected and reinforced.
Their coherent alignment runs parallel to the course of the river and remarkably recalls the layout of the Meudon terrace, of similar length, built in 1690 by André Le Nôtre, gardener to Louis XIV.
This arrangement allows for the full length of the valley to be appreciated while offering a diagonal view to the North of a vast landscape and the Saïs plain.
For this remarkable ensemble in the city, of which Sultan Moulay Ismaïl made his capital, the rehabilitation works concern the redesign of the park paths, the installation of fountains and basins, the rehabilitation of the outdoor bleachers, the development of aviaries, the rehabilitation of plantings, walls, and enclosure gates.
Parks and gardens are always, in the spirit of the Foundation, places for raising awareness about environmental protection. An educational path has been established for this purpose. It consists of information and awareness points whose design was the subject of a competition launched by the Foundation as part of its mission to raise awareness and educate about sustainable development, among students of the National School of Architecture (ENA) in Fès.
This unifying initiative of the Foundation is part of a process of experimentation and evaluation of the creative potential of young students from the ENA, while materializing their commitment to the environment and sustainable development.
Thus, more than thirty budding architects proposed projects for innovative and interactive modules to enrich this educational approach.
The modules of the educational path cover several themes, namely “History of the Garden,” “History of Roman Columns,” “Fountain-Water,” “Ecosystem Riddle,” “Ecosystems/Aromatic Plants,” “Plant Biodiversity,” “Shade Structure,” and “Insect Hotel.”
In order to safeguard this site of high heritage, cultural, and historical value, the Foundation has initiated, with its partners, the listing of Lahboul park as a classified site in the national heritage.
As a reminder, Lahboul park is the 6th to be rehabilitated by the Foundation as part of its program for the restoration of historic parks and gardens.
The Foundation began this program with the rehabilitation in 2005 in Marrakech of the Arsat Moulay Abdeslam, a magnificent princely garden of eight hectares near the Koutoubia, then, the following year, the Exotic Gardens of Bouknadel (2005) and its four hectares of lush gardens, Jnane Sbil in Fès (2010), a multi-century garden, L’Hermitage in Casablanca (2011) and its twelve hectares, Ghabat Chabab in Marrakech in 2022, a space of 140 hectares in the heart of the city.
The Foundation has also been leading the program for the preservation and development of the Marrakech Palm Grove since 2007.
Upon her arrival, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa was greeted by Mr. Chakib Benmoussa, Minister of National Education, Preschool, and Sports, Mrs. Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and Mr. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication.
Her Royal Highness was also welcomed by Mr. Mohamed Faouzi, Wali, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior and Acting Director General of Local Authorities, Mr. Said Zniber, Wali of the Fès-Meknès region, Mr. Abdelouahed El Ansari, President of the Fès-Meknès Regional Council, Mr. Abdelghani Sebbar, Governor of the Prefecture of Meknès, Mr. Hicham El Caid, President of the Prefectural Council of Meknès, Mr. Jawad Bahaji, President of the Municipal Council of Meknès, and Mr. Ahmed Ghajaoui, Head of the Al Ismailia District.
HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa was also greeted by Mr. Chakib Alj, President of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco (CGEM), Mr. Pascal Lopez, landscape architect, and Mrs. Nadia Esselak, Director of the National School of Architecture (ENA) in Fès, as well as members of the Board of Directors and partners of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.