What if an underused piece of a city could become a living native ecosystem?
That is the idea behind Sembrando Una Ciudad, an initiative from Fundación La Iguana to transform urban spaces into native forests — bringing biodiversity back into Ecuador's cities and reconnecting communities with the nature that belongs there.
Through our partnership with Fundación La Iguana, Splendor Water has contributed $25,000 to support this mission, with our work centered on Sembrando Una Ciudad: Guayaquil and the creation of Guayaquil's first public Native Urban Forest.
At the Dr. Antonio Parra Velasco monument in Sauces, a 5,709-square-meter public space began its transformation from a traditional urban landscape into something entirely different: a native forest in the heart of the city.
Our Impact at a Glance
Creating an urban forest starts long before the first tree goes into the ground.
Fundación La Iguana worked alongside the Municipality of Guayaquil and the surrounding community to select and study the site, engage neighborhood leaders, propagate native plants and replace 3,000 square meters of soil to prepare the land for restoration.
Then, on Earth Day 2024, the planting began.
The first 1,500 native plants went into the ground, launching a plan to introduce 10,000 native plants and trees to the site. More than 200 people joined that inaugural planting — including community members, volunteers, universities, social organizations, local institutions and project partners.
The result is about much more than adding greenery to a city. It's about creating space for native nature to return.
From Public Space to Native Forest
The vision behind Sembrando Una Ciudad isn't simply to plant more trees. It's to rethink how nature fits into the urban landscape.
At Sauces, that meant beginning with the ecosystem itself: understanding the existing soil and vegetation, preparing the land and propagating native plants before the public planting ever began.
By prioritizing native vegetation, the project is designed around the natural biodiversity of the region rather than simply creating another landscaped green space.
And because this forest is being created in a public space, nature becomes part of everyday city life — something residents can encounter in their own neighborhood rather than something that exists only beyond it.
Source a close-up from La Iguana of native species growing at the site today. Even stronger: native vegetation with a bird, butterfly, bee or other wildlife using it. This would visually demonstratewhat “native” means without requiring more explanation in the copy.
Planting a Forest, Together
One of the most meaningful elements of Sembrando Una Ciudad is that the transformation was never intended to happen in isolation.
Before planting began, Fundación La Iguana met with neighborhood leaders in Sauces to bring the surrounding community into the project. Then, when the first plants went into the ground, more than 200 people came together to help launch the forest.
Residents planted alongside volunteers, universities, organizations, businesses, and representatives of the Municipality of Guayaquil. Splendor participated throughout the community engagement and launch of the project as one of Fundación La Iguana's partners.
That participation is an important part of the impact. A native urban forest doesn't simply change a landscape — it gives a community something living to build, experience and protect together.
A Different Kind of Urban Future
Sembrando Una Ciudad started in Guayaquil with one public space. But the idea behind it is much larger.
Cities don't have to exist separately from the ecosystems that once surrounded them. Native nature can be brought back into the places where people live.
A traffic roundabout can become habitat. An ordinary neighborhood can become home to thousands of native plants and trees. And residents can participate directly in changing what their city looks like — and what can live within it.
This is the most important additional asset to request. Ideally, photograph the site today from the same angle as the original “before” image. If the growth is visually significant, I would use a Before → Planting → Today sequence here.
Bringing Nature Back Into the City
Splendor Water comes from Ecuador's extraordinary natural environment, and our conservation partnerships reflect our commitment to helping protect and restore that natural heritage in different ways.
With Fundación La Iguana, that work brought restoration into the heart of one of Ecuador's largest cities.
It started with an ordinary public space, native plants and a community willing to put the first roots in the ground.
What is growing from it is Guayaquil's first public Native Urban Forest — and a vision for a city where nature has a place to grow alongside us.
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