Currently, there are four biodiversity meadows within the green spaces of the IST Alameda Campus: the Hortus Meadow, the IST Press Meadow, the South Garden Meadow, and the Mechanics I Garden Meadow (part of the Eco-plot – a pilot project aimed at revitalising biodiversity in one of the garden beds of this area).

In the biodiversity meadow experiment at “Hortus IST”, a seed mix of native Portuguese wild species from the “Low Meadow” range by Sementes de Portugal was sown. This mix includes several low-growing grass species and 23 species of wildflowers. The development of the plant cover is monitored under the guidance of researcher and biologist Vânia Proença (MARETEC/LARSyS), in collaboration with master’s students from Técnico’s Integrated MSc in Biological Engineering.

There was also collaboration with the Microbiology course taught by Professor Cristina Viegas, through which soil samples from the meadow were collected and analysed in laboratory classes by students from Biological Engineering and Environmental Engineering.