Heritage Initiatives: Volunteer Program at the Ajuda Botanical Garden

The Ajuda Botanical Garden (Jardim Botânico da Ajuda, or JBA) is located in the parish of Ajuda, in Lisbon. Registered with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), it participates in conservation programs aligned with the International Agenda for Conservation in Botanical Gardens, with LISI as its international identification code. Home to over 5,000 plant species, the garden is owned by the University of Lisbon and administered by the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (School of Agronomy).

Dating back to the 18th century, the garden is a late Baroque masterpiece, characterized by geometric precision. As Portugal’s first botanical garden, it served as both a recreational space for the royal family and an educational hub for princes. Historically, it housed collections of natural history, zoological specimens, artifacts, and a herbarium of plants from the Portuguese colonies.

The Botanical Garden of Ajuda is part of a complex of royal palaces and aristocratic manor houses west of Lisbon’s city center, spanning the parishes of Ajuda, Belém, and Junqueira. This area preserves the most intact enfilade of manor houses and royal palaces in the Lisbon metropolitan region. It also presents an opportunity to establish a scenic route starting at Praça do Comércio—Lisbon’s main square, home to the iconic Cais das Colunas—and ending near the mouth of the Tagus Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. This route along the right bank of the Tagus benefits from the estuary’s navigable waters and features historic gardens, as well as two of Portugal’s most significant botanical gardens: the Botanical Garden of Ajuda, part of the Royal Palace of Ajuda complex, and the Tropical Botanical Garden of Belém, associated with the Royal Palace of Belém (now the presidential palace).

2026 Volunteer Program at the Ajuda Botanical Garden

The AAJBA (Associação de Amigos do Jardim Botânico da Ajuda) volunteer program was established in 2020 in cooperation with the garden’s board. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic with 60 volunteers, it offered people a chance to engage with nature and gardening while assisting in the garden’s upkeep. This initiative was particularly innovative, as Portugal had no strong tradition of garden volunteering at the time.

After six years marked by periodic suspensions, the program was relaunched on January 27, 2026, and has since thrived for six months with a dedicated group of about ten volunteers—primarily motivated women whose contributions are invaluable to the garden.

Volunteer Activities

Volunteers focus on:

• • Weeding the boxwood hedges and flowerbeds in the topiary garden.
  • Clearing garden paths, including those within the botanical collection.

All work is supervised by the garden staff and a monitor from the Friends Association, with guidance provided on plant species and garden styles.

How to Join

The program welcomes anyone passionate about gardening and willing to contribute their time to the JBA’s maintenance. Interested individuals can register via the AAJBA website or by emailing info@aajba.com After registration, they will be contacted to schedule an interview and a program presentation.

Session Details

• • When: Every Tuesday, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
  • Where: Ajuda Botanical Garden, Calçada da Ajuda, Lisbon (meet at the AAJBA headquarters).
  • What to Bring: Garden gloves.
  • Extras: The Friends Association provides tea, coffee, and cookies before and after each session.
  • Safety: An attendance list ensures insurance coverage for all participants. 

Amidst smiles, teamwork, and dedication, volunteers share experiences, learn together, and contribute to preserving this 18th-century cultural heritage—the Ajuda Botanical Garden (JBA). Every action count, and each volunteer enriches this mission of caring for nature and history. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participates and makes this initiative possible!