The Bonplandia Laboratory is a free science and botany space at the El Patio nursery in Pijao. It opened on 14 August 2024 and is run by four biologists who graduated from the University of Quindío.
Its name honours Aimé Bonpland, the botanist who travelled the Americas alongside Humboldt. Its philosophy fits in one sentence: “Knowledge is born of patient observation, of wonder at life, and of the desire to understand nature as it expresses itself in every leaf, in every root.”
As of May 2026, 318 children from 14 campuses take part: the 12 rural campuses of the La Mariela school and the 2 campuses of the Pijao school. Since 2025 there is also an academic pilot with the María Auxiliadora school.
The laboratory has also grown its own line of knowledge: the children are the authors of 956 botanical records of their territory — work that reached the finals of the 2026 Premios Verdes awards (Cuenca, Ecuador) and was selected among the 500 Best projects in Ibero-America.
“I wanted to sow dignity. Today I lovingly look after the Bonplandia Laboratory; I like to say I am its guardian.” — Ligia Villamil, guardian of the El Patio nursery
