This is where it all began. The original idea did not even come from the shipyard: it came from looking at the thousands of roundabouts scattered across the country and imagining each one as a small forest, instead of mown grass and a few ornamental plants. That was the starting point for the conversation with Lisnave, and the challenge was to turn the idea into an internal team-building day that changed, right there, the way trees were planted inside the shipyard.
The circular shape of the island is no accident. It is a direct reference to the roundabout that gave rise to the concept. In an industrial site beside the Sado river, on poor soil compacted by the constant movement of the shipyard, 150 trees and shrubs of 23 native species were planted, chosen after walking the ground to see what already grew there and what would be native to the south, with the Arrábida as reference.
Lisnave employees took an active part in the planting, which gave the project another dimension: it was no longer only about restoring soil and creating shade, but also about bringing people closer to nature inside their own workplace, even in a fully industrial setting. Using the Miyawaki method, the forest grows faster than a conventional plantation and became self-sustaining after two to three years.