Horsh Beirut: Picture taken from Greenation website

Green areas in Lebanon have decreased dramatically throughout the past years and now only represent 3% of Beirut’s surface and 13% of Lebanon’s surface. Many organizations and NGOs are working on preserving those green areas and creating new ones but the main problem is that Lebanese are not even aware of those green areas. Added to that, there is a big misconception that those places are not maintained and dirty and that it’s not safe to take our children or go ourselves there.

This lack of awareness and knowledge drove 2 do-gooders to launch the Greenation non-profit intiative, “devoted to education and advocacy around environmentally and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools, and communities”. In simpler words, Greenation aims at highlighting all the existing green spaces and encouraging citizens to explore and benefit from a “Green” outdoor in their surrounding.” [Greenation]

How will they achieve that?
Answer: The Green Map

The first stage of the Greenation initiative includes launching the Green Map, a visual representation of the green spaces, where public parks in Beirut are highlighted with a geo-location and images. In a second stage, “the map will gather all the needed information concerning private green spaces and make this information free for all and accessible on the web and on the mobile. The Green Map will serve as a valuable tool for all NGOs, media, schools, universities, municipalities and ministries.” [Source]

In later stages, Greenation aims to cover on its map all green parks and reserves in Lebanon and the region.


Picture taken by Horsh Beirut (via Flickr)

What I love most about Greenation is that it is creating a platform for Green NGOs and Lebanese in general to get involved and spread the word about our green spaces. After all, it is our responsibility as citizens to use the existing public gardens instead of nagging about the lack of forests and pollution, and demand the government and concerned ministries for more green areas.


Picture from Sioufi garden

All being said, Greenation is a project in progress that requires support from all Lebanese and concerned parties to succeed.