Victoria Park Botanical Gardens

Antigua and Barbuda

Established in 1893, Victoria Park Botanical Gardens (VPBG) have remained at the forefront of cultural history in Antigua & Barbuda as one of few open spaces in the capital city of St John’s. The gardens cover six acres of the city, with numerous species of trees. Within the bustling capital city, the gardens provide an escape for citizens and tourists; established as a green space to relax and exercise.

The aims and objectives of The Victoria Park Botanical Gardens are to establish a family friendly green space for the public use, create a hub for the display of environmental projects, establish a secure and aesthetically pleasing environment able to accommodate educational and recreational activities and provide an alternative tourist destination for visitors.

More about the project

In support of environmental awareness through community engagement, the DoE has implemented various outreach activities within VPBG such as: ‘Movies in the Park’, ‘Yoga in the Park’ and ‘Art in the Park’. Additionally, during Arbour Month, nursery staff exchange with the general public 4,000 – 5,000 fruit-bearing trees for plant bags, which are used the following year for propagation.

The forty-foot-high and fifty-foot-wide African Cloth Bark Tree or Zulu Tree (Ficus nekbuda) is one of the more notable species located within the VPBG; others include the Cuban Royal Palm (Roystonia regia), Lignum Vitae (Guiacum officinale), Yellow Poui (Tabebuia glomerata), Devil’s Ear (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), and Hazel Sterculea (Sterculea foetida).