OUR MISSION: To preserve the natural and cultural heritage of El Charco del Ingenio, and maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, with a primary focus on environmental education.
Ecology without social struggle is just gardening.
--Chico Mendes, Brasilian activist murdered in 1988
Warnings and recommendations to preserve the vegetation upstream of the urban area of San Miguel has served no purpose. For years experts have recommended that urban development not be extended towards the high parts of the municipality, which receive rainwater from the Picachos, Tambula and La Margara mountain ranges. This was established by the first urban development plan, in 1996, and thus ratified in 2012 by the Ecological Program (POET). However, the successive municipal governments have done exactly the opposite of the provisions of environmental standards. The urban sprawl has reached up the basin removing vegetation that allows water retention and infiltration. In the stripped down areas there are more and more housing developments, shopping centers, industries, etc., hampering water to penetrate the subsoil and directing it into the streams. Water then runs in great volume and speed, overflowing natural waterbeds and flooding the lower urban areas of San Miguel, as we have recently witnessed, causing already two deaths and countless damage to homes, businesses and urban infrastructure.
Will the ruling classes finally understand that the destruction of plant cover is a primary cause of seasonal floods? That this is not just about ecological damage, but a serious risk of civil protection? Will they act accordingly? Or will they continue to repeat the logic of business and arrangements regardless of the fatal effects on the population?
As part of the project of the Ethnobotanical Gardens, el Charco summoned a meeting of guardians of ancestral knowledge. This event was intended to open a space for the exchange of techniques, knowledge and information in the traditional use of the plants of several localities. The meeting took place through a series of activities about the work and current challenges of the herbalists, healers, midwives and shamans of the State of Guanajuato. Botanical information obtained as a result of participatory resarch work with communities was strengthened. It was a cheerful encounter, full of wisdom and respect, an experience of vital importance to recover the bio-cultural heritage in the region that has been lost over time.
A year ago El Charco del Ingenio was selected by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) for the establishment of an Ethno-botanical Garden, in a program of said federal institution for the creation of these spaces in each of the states of the country. El Charco was chosen for the State of Guanajuato. With the financial support of CONACYT, we have put a lot of effort and dedication into this project, which is made up of various stages and activities. We have worked simultaneously with rural communities of indigenous descent, in an investigation into the uses of plants in the region, in order to promote the revaluation and conservation of the bio-cultural heritage of Mexico. One of our commitments has been the integration of four ethno-botanical collections for display in the Garden. We therefore announce the next opening of these spaces so that our visitors can enter the traditional knowledge of the communities through scientific work and the beautiful curatorship of El Charco.
As part of the program sponsored by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), to make El Charco del Ingenio an ethnobotanic garden for the State of Guanajuato, we have produced two posters so far, based on participatory research with the indigenous communities of the region. These are two ethno-botanical collections: agaves and flowering of medicinal plants from Guanajuato. They are on sale at the garden store.
After more than 10 years with a website that has served to tell the story of El Charco and for consultation by thousands of users, we will no longer be using this great virtual place.
In the coming months, the new page will be launched which will be a reference for those interested in connecting with the Botanical Garden through beautiful photographs and a friendly digital content to contextualize the visit to the site.
The renovation of our reception and the construction of El Charco Interpretation Center continues. The pace of construction, despite its forced decline due to the health contingency, has not stopped, thanks to the generosity of the friends and donors of El Charco. This work, which marks a watershed in the history of the Botanical Garden, has already made considerable progress and is gradually approaching its inauguration. The new visitor center will strengthen the commitment with the San Miguel community to conserve and study the regional flora, as well as promote a culture of respect and love for nature. We will continue working to achieve this dream, for which we require the financial support of the community. All help is important to continue!
elcharcocontabilidad@gmail.com
On a very sunny day came El Chan, the sculptural fountain that will welcome our visitors at the entrance of the Botanical Garden. It is a work donated by Eduardo Olbes, a talented artist who produced an enigmatic sculpture in 3-ton basaltic stone, from which the water springs and runs through the natural faces of the great stone. This representation of El Chan, the mischievous, unpredictable and jealous guardian spirit, arrived in El Charco safely.
In response to the lawsuit (Amparo) filed in 2020 by 26 neighbors of the Balcones district, requesting to maintain the integrity of the ecological preservation area of El Charco del Ingenio and surrounding areas, a Federal Court dictated on September 2021 a favorable judgment to the complainants. With it, the nullity of the City Hall agreements of the years 2017 and 2018, which intended to subtract tens of hectares of the ecological zone and allow land use changes that would open the door to urban development and real estate business in the interior of the nature reserve.
The judgment now granted by the three magistrates of the Federal Court adds to the sentence in the same sense issued recently by the Administrative Justice Court of Guanajuato, preventing any attempt at alteration of the protected area, and prohibiting intended modifications in the Municipal Urban Development and Ecological Program (PMDUOET 20-40).
This over 800 acres nature reserve, officially declared by the municipality since 2006, includes areas of great ecological, scenic and historical value, such as the canyons of El Obraje and El Charco del Ingenio, the Botanical Garden, the Landeta Park, several sections of the Bicentennial Park and wetlands with abundant wildlife. It also comprises buffer zones, where real estate projects such as Garambullos and Santa Maria del Obraje are located, which are obliged to respect the housing densities and construction heights established in the declaration, now ratified by both the State and Federal courts.
The judgment issued by the magistrates is an exhaustive document based on human rights enshrined in the Constitution, such as the right to a healthy environment and the right to water, both threatened in San Miguel by the irresponsible boom of real estate developments, driven by recent municipal governments. It should be noted that this new judgment undoubtedly reflects a growing awareness in the judges about the enormous importance of natural spaces and their ecosystems in the integral and sustainable development of society
Born in Cuba, this remarkable artist graduated in New York with a master in drawing and engraving, came to live in San Miguel in 1996, where he has lived since then. His artistic work has been widely recognized in important individual and collective exhibitions, belonging to private collections and museums in the US, Mexico and other countries.
During these months of pandemic, Edgar Soberon approached El Charco to keep contact with nature, walking, breathing fresh air and cleaning his mind. He started then to work with landscape and Mexican flora. Based on some sketches came to life Nopalera, a metal plate etching and then a great format round oil painting. The decision from Edgar to donate his art work to the Botanical Garden surged this year, after he witnessed a fire at the reserve, as a way to recover a loss through an act of creation, in Edgar’s words: “in order to maintain, if not a cosmic balance, at least an existential one”.
Edgar Soberón's donation consists in a 12 engravings folder file, which can be acquired at the Botanical Garden’s shop, “symbol and example not only of nature preservation but of this town we all love and appreciate”.
Located in the preservation area of El Charco del Ingenio, this magnificent natural space comprises about 35 hectares of wooded slopes around the wetland of Las Colonias reservoir. The property, owned by the municipality, was delivered by a lease in 1993 to the Botanical Garden for the establishment and management of a public park and Arboretum. With the collaboration of local groups, such as Audubon, more than 2 thousand trees were planted in subsequent years. But the main goal was the restoration of the ecosystem through land and moisture retention works, as well as the rehabilitation of existing trees --especially mezquites and huizaches, whose populations were devastated by chopping down, over grazing and recurrent fires. In a short time it became a natural and recreational destination for the people of San Miguel de Allende.
Unfortunately, the restoration program was interrupted in 2009, when the municipal government cancelled the lease held with the Botanical Garden. Without attention by the authorities, the Landeta Park has suffered abandonment and deterioration --despite having been included in El Charco del Ingenio preservation area since 2006 and notwithstanding the recent judgment that avoided land reduction and use of soil changes throughout the whole ecological area.
But here is the surprise: In recent years, thanks to an unexpected civil initiative, groups of residents, both Mexicans and foreigners, have taken over the park through garbage collection, signage placement, tree sanitation and other actions aimed to revalue the area as a community park --with the support of the Botanical Garden’s staff. Nowadays the park users reflect a new environmental consciousness, respecting flora and fauna and maintaining the integrity of Landeta Park.
A deserved tribute, on the 30th anniversary of the Botanical Garden.
The conservation project that arose in the 90s and that today flourishes in this natural and historical monument of San Miguel de Allende, is the result of the conjunction of many wills that have been added over the years. The purpose: to preserve the biocultural heritage that El Charco del Ingenio represents. Sanmiguelenses men and women, native or by choice, Mexicans and foreigners, young and old. Some live; others have already left (*). All of them have contributed at the time to crystallize this common dream, offering their work, service, spirit, vision, knowledge, skills or relevant financial support. They are the main makers of El Charco del Ingenio, throughout the first three decades of the environmental conservation project. Today we offer you an affectionate and profound recognition (in chronological order and apologizing for any possible omission).
1990-2000
Federico Gama, César Arias, Leopoldo Estrada, Charles Glass*, Soledad Centeno, Roberto Aviña, Mario Mendoza, Cecilia Loera*, Rocío Ríos, Alejando Cabeza, Enrique Pliego, Emilio González Rullán, Pablo Moreto, Stirling Dickinson*, Miguel Maya*, Jaime Ocampo*, Jorge Estrada, Abel Mendoza, Martina García Granados, Pedro Mayer*.
2000-2010
Donald Rohan, Hermes Arroyo, Martin Smith, Carmen Silva, Lorena Gutiérrez, Rogelio López, Henry Miller, Sylvie Skyra*, Antonio Herrera, Robert Haas*, Alicia Mayo, Eugenia Velasco, Flor Rodríguez, Susan Smith*, Pedro Córdoba, Cristina González, Holly Yasui, Walter* y Wendy Meagher, Wayne y Susan Colony.
2010-2021
Mario A. Hernández, Naomi Zerriffi, Martin Keogh, Louis Franke, Timoteo Wachter, Peter y Gillian Neumeier, Landy Orozco, Marlene Parra, Alejandra Quezada, Marisa Ávalos, Alfredo García Lucio, Phyllis Pitluga, Marco Barrera Bassols, Nelly Sandoval, Nadia Merkel, Verónica Hernández, José Viccon, Hernán Drobny, Eduardo Olbés, Pedro Alvarado, Jacinto Estrada B., José Guadalupe Barrera, Teresa Ramírez V. y colectivo Museum.
In October 2020, this vast project for supplying water to the city was presented to the City Council by the city’s water board, SAPASMA. According to the presentation made by its manager, a set of eight wells would be drilled on the bank of the Allende Dam, between the San Marcos and Cabras Juan Xidó communities, in order to pump water several kilometers to storage tanks at different points from the city to supply the urban area. The stated reasons were the greater demand for water from new real estate developments and the insufficiency –accepted for the first time-- of the existing urban wells to meet this demand. This project has aroused the disagreement from the communal representatives of the drilling area, who fear losing the supply of their wells, plus several local NGOs, which have questioned the viability of such a project:
How could the water quality of the new wells be ensured, whose depth (to date 120 meters) foretells the eventual presence of fossil minerals such as fluoride and arsenic, and whose contiguity with the Allende Dam makes the infiltration of residues of domestic, animal or agro-industrial origen present in the dam? And how could an efficient treatment system for substances so diverse and difficult to remove be installed and maintained?
What would be the real cost of such a "waterworks", which includes the drilling of eight wells, the extraction mechanism, the continuous operation of powerful pumps to go up more than 200 meters high towards the city, the laying of several kilometers of collectors, the construction of storage tanks, as well as the treatment system that ensures water for human consumption?
Considering that groundwater and the Allende Dam are under strict federal jurisdiction, are there permits from CONAGUA to SAPASMA or to the municipality to drill new wells in said area? Is there a mandatory environmental impact statement (MIA) approved by SEMARNAT?
Does the drilling project have the consent of the communal authorities of San Marcos and Cabras Juan Xido, whose wells are neighboring the projected drilling area?
And finally, what is the quality and water supply capacity of the wells in the upper sub-basin of San Miguel, and what is the depletion degree that was disclosed by SAPASMA’s manager during the public presentation at the City Council?
In an exercise of the constitutional right to information, it would be healthy for SAPASMA to clear out these questions in some way. Citizens deserve such answers.
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