“DinoGarden”, the project in the UNESCO International “Geopark Țara Hațegului”, which connects dinosaurs and permaculture

An area settled according to permaculture principles is the new proposal addressed to tourists who will visit the exhibition “Dragons and dinosaurs” at the UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului, managed by the University of Bucharest. The works are carried out within the project “DinoGarden – permaculture at the museum” with the aim of creating a place where visitors can learn how to work with nature and not against it.

Permaculture is a way of planning and designing human settlements and perennial agricultural systems, based on imitating the relationships that exist in natural ecosystems. Within the project, theoretical and practical workshops were held to which Cantemir Păcurar, designer in permaculture, was invited. In the theoretical part, the participants learned information about what permaculture is, what are the ethics and principles that govern it, and they got acquainted with design methods in permaculture, taking as an example the area currently being developed at the Casa Geoparcului in the city of Hațeg. The practical part consisted of the creation of three installations for raised layers dedicated to the cultivation of vegetables and some boxes for the compost resulting from the landscaping of the garden. Those attenting the event learned how important the quality of compost is to obtain healthy plants, but also what are the advantages of cultivation using raised layers.

In addition to the permaculture activities, the area at the Casa Geoparcului also needed extensive landscaping works in which the volunteers for the Geopark also participated. “Before this workshop, together with the volunteers we transformed an older building, which was no longer in use, into a much larger patio than we had originally planned. We found when we started demolishing the building that its structure was good and matched the patio we wanted to build from scratch. I made the structure for the climbing plants, redid the stone paths and used the brick from the garden paths as a border. We set out and managed to reuse to a large extent the materials we already had at our disposal from the previous arrangement so as to make resistant, durable and sustainable structures”, said Maria Crețescu, the project coordinator.

Permaculture through games

The new area designed according to the principles of permaculture will also have an important educational component. The little ones as well as the big ones will be able to discover permaculture and its importance through the games that will be part of an educational program.In the following period, two other gardening workshops will be organized on the needs of annual plants and how to fertilize with plant macerates, as well as on the importance of soil microbiology. In autumn, a harvest day will be organized during which there will also be a fair where the participants will be able to exchange traditional seeds obtained by them.

The “DinoGarden – permaculture at the museum” project is run by Drag de Hațeg Association and the UNESCO International Geopark “Ţara Hațegului”, managed by the University of Bucharest. The partners in the project are the Women’s Association from Santamaria Orlea, the Secondary School from Sîntămaria Orlea and AccentMedia. The project is financed by the Foundation for Partnership and MOL Romania after winning a national project competition.