A PROPOSED QUEZON BOTANICAL PARK AND RESEARCH FACILITY

Botanical gardens are developed in the fields of conservation, education, and recreation globally throughout centuries of historical development. They help in providing a scientific basis towards sustainable use and conservation of plant diversity and help the public increase their understanding of plants. CALABARZON is home to diverse flora and fauna (DENR, 2019). One of the most recent discoveries in the region is a new subspecies of Hoya (also called "waxplant” or “waxflower”) and Rafflesia found in Quezon (Macasero, 2019) Quezon has the largest area in CALABARZON with a total of 870,660 hectares (DENR, 2019). Through the proposed Quezon Provincial Botanical Park and Research Center, newly discovered species in the area such as Hoya and other plant species especially those endemics to Quezon province can be preserved and propagated. The main purpose of the project is to provide aesthetics, educational display, and research center. The proposed project will support taxonomic studies that will provide valuable information on various plants. Botanical gardens help preserve and rebuild biodiversity as they supply a wide range of plant species, seed, flowers, and fruit for botanical and agricultural research, as well as for conversation and propagation of rare species and genetic diversity. With this, nearly extinct or endangered plants are taken care of, while the effects of urban sprawl such as air pollution are lessened. Hence, this project is to educate the community by providing workshops and training sessions about horticulture, hybridization, and plant propagation.