WOODLAKE – The sun was high and bright and the flowers were blooming at the official opening of the Woodlake Botanical Garden: Los Jarnines.
On Aug. 7, members of the Woodlake community came together for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Woodlake Botanical Garden: Los Jarnines at 577 E. Naranjo Blvd. This project didn’t just signify the completion of work on the botanical garden itself, it also celebrated the installation of an underground drainage system.
“This is yet another quality project for the community because it allows for anybody to participate. … You get to experience the outdoors and a whole multitude of different plant species, and it’s just beautiful all the way around,” said Mayor Rudy Mendoza in an interview.
Woodlake City Manager Ramon Lara explained during the ribbon cutting ceremony that before this project, there was another garden in its place. The previous garden was taken out to install the underground drainage system, and replaced with the botanical garden.
“It takes a huge team to make something like this happen, and again, this is a project that was 90% grant funded. So I think our staff does a remarkable job of going after grant dollars to make projects like this happen,” said Mendoza during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The botanical garden and underground drainage system project cost approximately $4.8 million in total to complete, according to Emmanuel Llamas, community development director, from an interview.
This project was funded by various partnerships, explained Mendoza. The city received a large amount of the funding from the Clean California program, which funded beautification projects throughout California, according to the Clean California website.
The project also partnered with Tulare County Association of Governments, known commonly as TCAG, and utilized some of the Measure R funds for the project. Measure R is a half cent sales tax that supports transportation projects in the county, according to the TCAG website.
The completed botanical garden and underground drainage project will benefit the Woodlake community beyond just beautification. Mendoza explained in the interview that this will help with storm water runoff.
“Historically, during some heavy wet years, we would get a lot of water that would accumulate in the park, and literally flood the park,” said Mendoza.
There are many different kinds of plants that line a pathway at the botanical garden. During the ceremony, Woodlake Pride Director Manuel Jimenez said there is over a mile of the garden.
“For those that are coming for the first time, they’ll really get to take advantage of a beautiful spot somewhere in the Valley that you typically probably wouldn’t think it would be,” said Mendoza.
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