The clouds over the Theresienwiese do not let any rays of sun through on this Friday morning. But the volunteers who shovel sand barefoot and armed with a shovel are not affected by the cloudy weather. “We just want to be part of a good project,” says assistant Luisa Neugebauer. The project that Neugebauer raves about is the palm garden on the south-eastern edge of the Theresienwiese.
13 palm trees and 80 cubic meters of sand should create a holiday feeling among Munich residents in the next few months. “The aim is also for visitors to stay here without being forced to consume, and to be able to bring everything they need with them,” says Anja Karatas from the Green City environmental association. This idea is not completely new: last year, the association set up the palm garden as part of the “Summer in the City” concept. Back then, as now, the Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt district committee provided financial support, and the horticultural building department again provided palm trees and sand.
According to Martin Glöckner, managing director of Green City, there is another intention behind the palm garden in addition to the “opportunity for recreation”: In times of climate change, more shadows are needed on urban squares in order to make them usable. “That’s why we want to symbolically shade the Theresienwiese with palm trees,” says Glöckner, behind which a truck is moving the last of the sand onto the Theresienwiese. The palm garden should be accessible to all visitors in the evening. And then, as Glöckner emphasizes, should also provide an impetus to shade and green more areas in Munich.