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Daegu Arboretum leads the country as the first eco-friendly park built on a former landfill. City officials transformed nearly a square mile of waste into a thriving green space. Today, the park features more than 1,000 varieties of trees, wildflowers, cacti, and medicinal herbs. Visitors can stroll past bonsai, ponds, fountains, and shaded groves of bamboo and fruit trees. Several walking trails and grassy areas invite families and friends to picnic and enjoy the park’s changing seasons.
Daegu Arboretum–An Eco-friendly Reclaimed Landfill
Spend a day at the Daegu Arboretum. It’s a reclaimed LANDFILL that until recently stored more than 4.1 million tons of garbage. And like Suseong Lake, its a very popular place for locals and just one of the reasons I like living in South Korea. Developers left the site untouched for ten years before construction began. Today, thousands of native tree roots actively compost the remaining waste. Locals now gather in the space, once considered unusable. They learn how to protect the environment, share a picnic, or sip coffee as they stroll from one end of the park to the other.
A large map greets visitors at the Daegu Arboretum entrance, just across from the parking lot. Paper guides sit nearby for added reference. Not only do visitors learn how plants support our lives, but they also discover each plant’s role in the evolving balance of nature. While most of the information appears only in Korean, visitors can still understand the layout and main features.
The plants in the Arboretum are arranged in 23 sections according to their species. So visitors can understand the plants and how they benefit our lives and the roles they play in the evolving nature of… duh… nature.
I am quite fond of bamboo. And I was happy to stroll through the grove of this very fast-growing and renewable wood resource.
Cacti House
The Daegu Arboretum houses more than 1,000 species of plants, including giant cacti, vibrant flowers, medicinal herbs, and native trees. Staff members also lead ecology programs designed for students and young children. Because of these efforts, environmental experts now recognize the Arboretum as a successful model of ecosystem restoration.
Inside, visitors can explore exhibits featuring videos, botanical art, and interactive displays. Although translations remain limited, staff members answer basic questions and guide hands-on experiences for guests of all ages.
We totally enjoyed the cacti house. There were some very unique plants in there. It’s located near the entrance and the bog swamp, medicinal herb garden, and coffee nook. We went the last week of March. You could get a hot dog and a cup of coffee but not much else inside the park. I am sure there is more food available during the warmer months.
The Bonsai Garden
There is a bonsai garden at the Daegu Arboretum. However, during cooler weather, they are stored indoors until the summer. When the weather is mild enough, they are placed outside on the upturned kimchi pots. You can only wonder how they get those trees to grow in a pot.
I suggest you drive to the Daegu Arboretum and which is stroller and wheelchair accessible. Hours of operation: January-April, September-December 09:00-18:00; May-August 08:00-19:00. The park is located at 342 Hwaam-ro, Daegok-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, South Korea.
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I love the idea of recycling our environment to get the best out of our beautiful planet. It looks like a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.
That’s amazing that it’s a reclaimed landfill turned into a beautiful piece of earth. Lots to see here.
The place turns to be so beautiful! Kudos for the team who made these happen. I hope they can transform many landfills soon!
Amazing photos! It seems a great place to visit! I love flowers and trees!
I want to live here!!! It’s so very enchanting and beautiful. It’s fascinating to see trees of that size indoors.
Jazz get your ticket. SK is still an affordable place to visit, much more so than its neighbors Japan and China.
Beautiful photos. Looks like a fabulous place to visit.
Thank you Cynthia. I bet you have a park similar to this in your own backyard.
Wow, this looks like a beautiful place to walk through. I’d love the bonsai the best – they have always fascinated me.
Me too. We postured for a long time how they can make a full grown tree in a pot.
I can stay in that arboretum the whole day. It’s such a beautiful garden to admire all the beauty nature has to offer. South Korea is in my bucket list.
If they could combine a book store and a park, I’d never leave.
What a wonderful place, it’s certainly interesting. The Bonsai garden looks so pretty!
I hope it warms up so I can go back and see them outside in the open air.
What a beautiful place!! Looks like a very cool place to visit. I love the bamboo walkway.
I love bamboo. Its such a strong but renewable tree. I had bamboo floors installed in my home and it made all the difference.
Wow! That place is beautiful. My husband and I also planning to live there someday when we start traveling. We’re also checking that place out. I love to hear that you’re sharing this post to military spouses out there.
Its a great place to jump off to the rest of Asia and its still affordable and accessible to anyone who wants to experience the culture.
That is beautiful! There is no way I would ever know it was a landfill at one point.
My girlfriends said she could smell the garbage, she couldn’t and if I hadn’t told her she wouldn’t have said that.
I would love to visit a place like this! Such a great idea to to maintain it!
Its such a small country, its a great idea because they didn’t have a plan in place to deal with pollution back then.
This is so wonderful! I love that they reclaimed the trash area to make something so beautiful!
Me too. It was an awesome idea and yo’d never know once you visited.
What a beautiful idea! There are always ways to restore nature to the way it was meant to be! Lovely place!
We have to take care of the planet, right now its the only one we have, can I get an Amen?
What a lovely place. I’m amazed. Thanks for sharing.
You’r welcome and thanks for being so supportive.
I am really amazed by the commitment of South Korea on it’s nature and history. I would love to visit someday. It’s so beautiful there!
They are making strides. The old and new overlap in so many ways. Some of which make this place hard to understand, but under it all, its a beautiful culture and the people are warm and inviting.
I love the garden that you display here. I especially love the bonsai garden. It is such a beautiful way that they are conscious of the environment.
Thanks David. The city has a lot of parks and they play a huge role in the culture.
Wow this is really interesting and I absolutely love all of the pictures that you shared !! I love how bamboo looks too great shots you got !
Looking forward to going to the largest bamboo forest in South Korea in a few weeks. It is a stunning backdrop.
I love supporting eco-friendly parks. They definitely help us appreciate the world that we live in more. These plants are all so beautiful!
Me too. We have to protect the land under our feet better than we have. Where else are we going to go if we don’t?
It looks like a pretty cool place to visit. I love that they chose to maintain it as well instead of developing it into a commercial site with buildings. It’s really beautiful.
The South Koreans are very conscious of their public spaces, its integral to their culture.
Where my parents are from Madeira there is beautiful greenery and flowers there so this looks gorgeous. Love the cacti house for sure x
Awesome, never been to Madeira, but I bet its beautiful.
I didn’t know you could do that. Reclaim I mean. The aerial view is so beautiful, I can’t even believe it.
Yup you just cover over the trash with a few layers of earth and plant trees and plants. It works the same way a compost work over time, pressure and heat. Its going to be the way forward for some places. They have also reclaimed land from the sea in much the same way.
As an avid gardner I find this SO fasanaiting and truly amazing. I enjoy touring our local botanical gardens and nature trails. I plan to see if any of our area landfills have commeted to a plan such as this.
Thats a great idea and I highly suggest it as a way to get more municipalities to invest in green initiatives.
How gorgeous is all that bamboo! That Bonzai garden is gorgeous as well love the details in the trees, South Korea is beautiful!
http://prettyfitfoodie.com/2017/04/09/foodies-going-crazy-national-grilled-cheese-day/
I love bamboo too. I am looking forward to a trip down south to a very large bamboo forests.
I love the idea of a landfill being repurposed as a park! Would love to visit if I’m ever in the area.
Make sure you Google your own area and see if they have done this locally, so you can visit and support green efforts.
This place looks amazing! I would love to go here. I love plants and taking walks.
Me too. Make sure you research your own area. We tend to overlook things in our own backyard and there are probably some great self guided or organized walking tours.
Wow, I am in awe of this place. What fabulous colors.
Hey Amber, do you have any reclaimed spaces in your area?
You know, I really have no idea. I’ll have to see. We do have a tea garden, but I don’t think it’s a reclaimed space.
I think that is lovely! I would love to visit there someday.
Hi Robin Sue make sure you check and see if they have reclaimed spaces in your area. Its a great way to support green initiatives.