Back to the Pine Forest

On Saturday I participated in an event in the Pine Forest, an opportunity to help care for one of the most beautiful gardens in Beirut. I blogged about bumbling my way into the pine forest last year. I thought I'd stumbled upon one of the best-kept secrets in Beirut. Turns out it's no secret. It's just that entering the garden is one of they many things that you can do as a foreigner that you maybe can't do if you're Lebanese.

A few weeks ago, a friend began organizing an event to get people together caring for the garden. I was happy be a part of it.

Here we all area the beginning--weeds more than knee high.

Here's the middle with the crew my friend assembled.

And here are the results, a plot ready for new plants, more action.

Finally, here are some shots of the assembled crew.  Chris, who planned it is in the back, third from the left.  Zahra, who manages the garden is seated, third from left.  Sarah, who organized lunch is hidden in the back,  fifth from the right. 

While we were there, we learned that school groups are invited to come here to learn about the plants and to learn about the landscape and ecology of the city was before it was slowly transformed into a concrete jungle. I hope that in the future it will be opened to even more visitors.