THE beautiful city of Jeddah deserves a large inner city green space like New York's Central Park, Paris's Tuileries, Cambridge University's Botanic Garden or any of the parks found in most European cities. A big park in the middle of Jeddah would do a lot of things for the city, its people and its authorities. It would be the active green lung of the city with its trees, shrubs and flowers. It would be the green space everyone turns to for peace and solace. It would be a place where we could preserve our natural habitat and native plants and it would be a wonderful tourist attraction. All of this would make it very useful aesthetically as well as economically. Moreover, if the park is constructed in the old airport area, it would be in the new center of town near the King Fahd Public Library and it would be a place where the students of the College of Agriculture at King Abdulaziz University could investigate farming issues and put theory into practice. We could experiment with composting and solar energy in the park. We could have a museum there with special hands-on educational facilities that would teach children about the history of the country, as well as about indigenous plants, the climate, the environment, how food is created, how to do small farming projects, etc. People could rent special areas of the park for parties and get-togethers. A central park in Jeddah would be a wonderful open green space with attractions both for the residents of the city and for its visitors and it would be a pioneering model to be admired all over the region. Such an endeavor may seem like a huge project. However, aside from securing the land, the planning and execution can be done on a very minimal budget with careful, creative management. We can involve school and university students. Imagine, for example, 10,000 children planting 10,000 trees. This is not to say that we only have 10,000 children who would want to be involved. I believe we will have tens of thousands and with good organization, they could do wonders and they will be happy and proud because each one of them would have participated in creating this beautiful garden in the center of their great city. Money to defray management expenses could be raised by renting out certain areas of the park for special events, by charging a small membership or entrance fee, by arranging for guided tours, etc. This is not unusual; some of the most famous parks in the world collect funds in this way. For example, Cambridge University's Botanic Garden offers paid tours, and it has special activities, concerts and entrance fees. In short, Jeddah's central park could be self-financing once the initial cost of securing the land and planning is met. Imagine this beautiful green space full of the sounds of birds and all the colors of flowers in the middle of Jeddah. How can this dream come true? If Jeddah's municipal authorities secure the land while the people of Jeddah provide gifts of plants and a lot of manpower, in no time at all, we will have a park to be very proud of.
