The garden's inauguration took place on September 13, and was attended by Mayor Moshe Lion, KKL-JNF Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia Luski, the Jerusalem Municipality General Director Itzik Larry, KKL-JNF's Southern Region Manager Anat Gould and other guests.
The "Tree Garden" compound includes a lawn, playing facilities, the renovated "Bustania" garden that suffered fire damage, and a beautiful lake, which will be filled during the rainy season.
The KKL-JNF Park - Asbestonim Wadi is a joint venture of KKL-JNF, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority, with 70 million ILS invested in its development. The urban park will spread over about 25 acres and include an artificial lake, cycling and walking tracks, a coffee house, new playing facilities, sport facilities, and a renovation of the community garden, all built with the preservation of the natural environment in mind.
KKL-JNF works all throughout Israel and in Jerusalem to improve the residents' quality of life through the strengthening of the forestlands as a green envelope that offers landscapes and recreation, coming together to complete the open spaces in the city.
The park's development is a continuation of the urban policy to nurture the green environment for the residents by adding significant green lungs to Israel's capital. The urban parks provide open developed green spaces for their surrounding neighborhoods, in the heart of the city space. The park will be used by the residents of the neighborhoods that go through intensive renewal, which includes the building of thousands of new apartment and infrastructure development.
Construction works on the "Tree Garden" compound by the Moriah Company and the Jerusalem Development Authority, took 14 months. Current work on the other parts of the park are expected to take another 10 months.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion: "The inauguration of the 'Tree Garden' compound at the KKL-JNF Park – Asbestonim Wadi is another stage in our urban policy of developing green lungs throughout the city. The new park, which will stretch over about 25 acres, will provide the surrounding neighborhood residents with an open and nurtured space, where they can have fun with their families, play and enjoy themselves. The park will also be used as a center for community activities and will support the urban renewal that take place in the Kiryat HaYovel and the Kiryat Menachem neighborhoods. We believe that the new park will be an attraction among the residents of the neighborhoods and the whole city, contributing to their quality of life."
KKL-JNF Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia Luski: "From immigrant neighborhood with asbestos structures, we have turned the place into a well-developed green park for the benefit of the city's residents. This great project brings together the community, the city and KKL-JNF, along with the historical aspect. We are very happy with our investment with this project, and we will continue to develop and strengthen the forest areas, the urban nature, the green envelope around the city and the community forests. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, and at KKL-JNF we will continue to invest and enrich it with activities, projects and forests, so that its light will shine on."