The Longwood Graduate Program Fellows have nearly finished our time in Australia. We visited eleven different sites including botanic gardens, a national park, and a zoo. Each location has filled a different niche and given us a unique experience. Our goal for this trip was to learn how Australian gardens are evaluating the success and social impact of their site and programs. As an element of that goal we have also been investigating community engagement strategies. Evaluating social impact is a challenging task, in fact simply agreeing on definitions can be a challenge. Assessing social impact, or return on mission, is something we are currently working on as part of the next 5-year strategic plan here at Longwood Gardens.
We have found a lot of interest in these concepts at each institution we have visited. Some gardens only have anecdotal evidence of their impact while others have visitation numbers or survey data. We are learning that most organizations only have a vague idea about how to quantify these qualitative and social concepts.
Some selected highlights of our trip so far include: an amazing interpretive experience of water use at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Cranbourne; seeing how the Adelaide Botanic Garden demonstrates and educates about farming techniques in an urban area; and the multi-generational indigenous story of Booderee Botanic Gardens, the only Aboriginal owned and managed garden in Australia.
At each location we have met with management staff and have gone on wonderful tours. We are so thankful for their generosity in giving us their time and knowledge.
Sites Visited
Sydney, New South Wales
- The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
- The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan
- The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah
- Booderee Botanic Gardens
- Taronga Zoo
Melbourne, Victoria
Adelaide, South Australia
- Adelaide Botanic Garden
- Mount Lofty Botanic Garden
- Wittunga Botanic Garden
- Cleland Conservation Park
You can read about our journey in more detail on the Longwood Graduate Program Blog.
You can also follow us on social media!
- Facebook: The Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture
- Twitter: @ElizabethTau
- Trip hashtag: #LGPDownUnder
