{"id":28444,"date":"2026-06-29T19:58:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/interventions\/the-pollinator-garden-a-new-seed-in-sendero-verde-tulum\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T19:58:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T01:58:48","slug":"the-pollinator-garden-a-new-seed-in-sendero-verde-tulum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landuum.com\/en\/history-and-culture\/the-pollinator-garden-a-new-seed-in-sendero-verde-tulum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pollinator Garden: A New Seed in Sendero Verde Tulum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pollinator Garden: A New Seed in Sendero Verde Tulum<\/b> explores the environmental and social value of the ecological pedestrian walkway located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. In this article, Zoe R\u00edo y Violeta Gim\u00e9nez<\/span>,<\/span> members of the Sendero Verde Collective<\/span>,<\/span> invite us to learn about one of the emerging projects in this space: the Pollinator Garden, an initiative that promotes biodiversity, ecological restoration, and community participation.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In November 2025, Landuum magazine launched an open call inviting its readers and community to share a story about landscape. Without hesitation, we decided to tell the story of Sendero Verde Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico: a landscape regenerated by its own inhabitants. Our story was selected for publication!<\/span><\/p>\n

From this first encounter with the magazine, a synergy emerged that now allows us to present this series of articles: more voices for this community, its territory, and the ongoing commitment to preserving its natural environment amid the urban landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a brief chronicle, we will share the lessons, challenges, and future possibilities surrounding one of the projects currently taking root within the Green Path: the Pollinator Garden.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this first installment, we introduce the Green Path and share a bit of its story. Located in the Villas Tulum neighborhood, this public space is made up of two intersecting ecological pedestrian walkways. But it was not always this way: before 2018, these were streets without consolidated grey infrastructure. Fortunately!<\/span><\/p>\n

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L\u00e1mina conceptual Sendero Verde 2020\/ Sendero Verde 2020 Conceptual Board
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Colectivo Sendero Verde<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the pathways, Sagitario Street, remained as a spontaneous natural reserve. The other, Chemuyil Street, was\u2014for those of us living in Villas Tulum\u2014a daily shortcut to Tulum Avenue. However, it had been stripped of its vegetation, was filled with trash, mud, and rubble, and was used as a parking area. At night, the lack of lighting made walking through it a source of fear and insecurity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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V\u00eda Chemuyil\/ Chemuyil Road
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Registro fotogr\u00e1fico de la comunidad<\/p><\/div>\n

The Villas Tulum Neighborhood Committee invited local residents to take part in a community clean-up of the site and, a few days later, we gathered to imagine its possibilities. The main ideas were for the space to be filled with vegetation and trees, and to provide dignified conditions for walking through it and inhabiting it.<\/span><\/p>\n

From those very first meetings, the Sendero Verde Collective emerged with the purpose of giving shape, support, and continuity to this community-born vision. Through a variety of activities and initiatives carried out within the space, we wove together bonds of connection, care, and belonging around this wonderful shared vision known as Sendero Verde Tulum.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Uno de los talleres participativos, 2022\/ One of the Participatory Workshops, 2022
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Registro fotogr\u00e1fico de la comunidad<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the first activities was \u201cPutting Down Roots.\u201d With this in mind, we invited the community to plant native trees from Quintana Roo, generously donated by the Dr. Alfredo Barrera Mar\u00edn Botanical Garden, which also provided the guidance and support needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout these years, we worked to advance the project with the Honorable Tulum City Council. In 2024, the Tulum Council approved the construction of its first phase and the official recognition of the Green Path Tulum Ecological Pedestrian Walkway. We did it! And it was made possible by the collective effort of the community, civil organizations, the business sector, and the municipal government.<\/span><\/p>\n

The story continues, for there is still much work to be done. At the beginning, we spoke about how perseverance, commitment, and responsibility toward our habitat will allow us to continue preserving it. That is why we keep moving along the path: From the Imaginary to the TANgible \u2014the name of the festival we hold each year to celebrate and commemorate this initiative (DELITAN).<\/span><\/p>\n

Sendero Verde Tulum: an ecological project that evolved from Imagination into Reality <\/span>(DELITAN).\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This year, the Green Path celebrated its eighth anniversary, and the festival centered on the theme of \u201cPollinators,\u201d with the intention of opening a new chapter: to collectively imagine, foster, and build a pollinator garden that provides refuge for these essential species. We have planted a new vision; now it is our turn to make it tangible. In the next installment, we will begin sharing what we are learning and undertaking to bring it to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vision Has Been Planted in the Community: First Steps Toward the Pollinator Garden<\/b><\/p>\n

We celebrated the 8th anniversary of Sendero Verde Tulum with the DELITAN festival (From the Imaginary to the Tangible), held on April 11, 2026, whose theme was: \u201cPollinators\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were many wonderful activities, and the participants and volunteers gave their all to offer the community a high-quality festival that was free and open to everyone. To make it possible, the event was supported by donations and contributions from those involved in the program, as well as from individuals, organizations, and businesses that joined this collective effort.<\/span><\/p>\n

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La naturaleza se expande, infraestructura verde 2019\/ Nature Expands: Green Infrastructure, 2019
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Registro fotogr\u00e1fico de la comunidad<\/p><\/div>\n

A series of talks on pollinators was held, featuring the participation of experts in the field, and we took the opportunity to share the proposal for the Sendero Verde Tulum Pollinator Garden with the community. Throughout these conversations, we learned about the essential role of pollinators, some of the animal and plant species involved in these ecological processes, and the remarkable strategies that flora has evolved to attract them.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of our invited speakers was Dalia Hoil, a biologist from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR). Dalia has been accompanying Sendero Verde Tulum since its beginnings, offering guidance and sharing her knowledge through various community activities. A few years ago, she invited us to participate in a workshop on wild vegetation\u2014those plants that are often dismissed as \u201cweeds\u201d or, even more disparagingly, as \u201cbad herbs\u201d. During that session, we learned that many of these species have valuable medicinal properties, such as spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus).<\/span><\/p>\n

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A\u00f1o 2018 – A\u00f1o 2019\/ Year 2018 – Year 2019
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Registro fotogr\u00e1fico de la comunidad<\/p><\/div>\n

At Sendero Verde, we have identified various wild plant species that are attractive to pollinators, such as Santa Luc\u00eda (Commelina erecta), Ruellia (Ruellia simplex), and X\u2019kanan (Hamelia patens), the latter being frequently visited by butterflies and hummingbirds because of its continuous nectar supply. We make a conscious effort to preserve these plants during site maintenance activities and to raise awareness about the importance of not removing them, so that this green infrastructure can continue providing valuable ecosystem services.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have learned that, when it comes to regenerating a landscape, it is also necessary to support the living processes that are already taking place. Sometimes we find fallen logs in the spaces we are restoring, and our first instinct is to remove them, when they may already be serving as shelter for a species of solitary bee. Before designing the garden, we are learning to observe it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Una vez echadas las ra\u00edces\/ Once the Roots Have Taken Hold
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Registro fotogr\u00e1fico de la comunidad<\/p><\/div>\n

The next steps will be to more carefully identify the species that attract pollinators in Sendero Verde and to locate a suitable area in which to establish the Pollinator Garden. It will also be necessary to propagate or receive donations of certain species, always ensuring that their relocation does not affect their development. Finally, one urgent task is to secure a reliable water supply for irrigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pollinator Garden: A Natural Refuge for Plants and Species in the Green Path Tulum.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The members of the Sendero Verde Collective have begun to outline the plant palette and develop initial design ideas, but we know that the project will be enriched by opening it up to more voices, because beyond creating the garden, our goal is to cultivate a community that is actively engaged with its habitat. For this reason, we will soon invite the community to participate in a workshop where we can share ideas, learn together, and define the next steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Infraestructura dotada por el H. Ayuntamiento de Tulum 2026\/ Infrastructure Provided by the Municipality of Tulum, 2026
Fotograf\u00eda\/Photography: Igor Cedeno<\/p><\/div>\n

We continue documenting what happens along the way. As a matter of fact, several species of stingless bees have made their home in a wall bordering Sendero Verde. With a little imagination, we might think that a bat acting as a \u201creal estate agent\u201d is already flying around the area, selling plots and advertising the next hotel district for pollinating insects.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pollinator Garden: A New Seed in Sendero Verde Tulum explores the environmental and social value of the ecological pedestrian walkway located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. In this article, Zoe R\u00edo y Violeta Gim\u00e9nez, members of the Sendero Verde Collective, invite us to learn about one of the emerging projects in this space: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":465,"featured_media":28443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t