At parks in Dubai, you are not allowed to pluck flowers or plants. However, this week, the Dubai Municipality will give you flower plants when you visit parks.

As part of the 37th Plantation Week and in line with the announcement of 2017 as the Year of Giving, the Dubai Municipality will distribute more than 500,000 flower plants and 50,000 saplings to the public and visitors to the different parks in Dubai.

On Sunday, 12th March, 2017, the municipality opened a new park in Al Warqa-3, in the presence of Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and other senior municipality officials.

The Plantation Week, organised during on March 12-16 under the slogan, ‘Let’s plant a greener Emirate together’, will see the opening of more parks such as the Nadd Al Sheba-2 Park, Al Khawaneej Pond Park, Al Mizhar-2 Park, Hatta Valley Park as well as the Hatta community Facility.

After touring the new park in Al Warqa-3, Al Zeyoudi said he valued the remarkable care that has been given by the public and private sector establishments in the country on environmental affairs, stressing the ministry’s keenness to communicate with all stakeholders to implement environmental initiatives and utilise every occasion to expand green areas in Dubai.

“Those efforts have resulted in achieving stunning successes in spreading green areas and transforming cities of the country to lush parks. Additionally they have promoted agricultural development and increasing plantation projects as well as using the best practices in agricultural projects and managing them efficiently and effectively,” said Al Zeyoudi.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said the plantation week aims to educate society about the importance of afforestation. “We want to ensure the participation of different age groups in the preservation of agriculture and implant agricultural values in the minds of young people, including students,” he said.

The Dh22 million Al Warqaa-3 park, spread over a total area of 27.1 hectares, boasts of many recreational, sports and service facilities, including a 3.5km long running track, a 3.55km long cycle track, a 3.5km long sandy track, two football fields planted with natural grass, basketball and tennis courts.