AUSTRALIA'S
BOTANIC GARDENS

*Figures used in this website are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys 1993-1995

Why do so many Australians visit botanic gardens?

A botanic garden is a place where visitors come for a host of reasons ­ for peace, relaxation, entertainment, recreation, education, botany and horticulture. Botanic gardens have a wide diversity of accurately identified living plants on display, accompanied by scientifically-based interpretive comment. They also offer cultural activities ­ visual arts, theatre, music and cinema ­ which broaden visitor experiences and extend ways in which plants and landscapes can be enjoyed.

More than a garden

All life on earth depends on plants, and botanic gardens have an important role as advocates for plants and for life on earth. Botanic gardens are places of research into botany, ecology and horticulture. Most major botanic gardens have educational facilities and programs for school students, teachers and the wider community. Australian botanic gardens, old and new, are committed to the conservation of plant biodiversity through education, displays and research, while at the same time maintaining their cultural heritage, including historical buildings.

An Australian network

Australiais major botanic gardens, one from each State and Territory, belong to an organisation known as the Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens. This organisation provides a basis for cooperation and the exchange of information between botanic gardens. It promotes plants, their appreciation and their cultivation at national and international levels.

Plant conservation

The major impact botanic gardens have on conservation is to raise public awareness about the importance of biodiversity. This leads to an appreciation of the need to preserve natural habitats, to an understanding of the threats and consequences of loss of biodiversity, and to an appreciation of counteractive measures that can be taken. Botanic gardensi research is actively involved with conservation of plant species, whole communities and natural landscapes. Botanic gardens promote sustainable use and management of the natural environment, which is the foundation of conservation.

Biodiversity of the Australian flora

Like art galleries and museums, botanic gardens have curated collections Ð of living and preserved plants. Several Australian botanic gardens are associated with an Èherbariumi, which houses preserved plant specimens collected since European settlement, along with information on their localities and habitats. The combined collection of living and preserved plants held in Australian botanic gardens and herbaria represents the vast majority of knowledge on Australian plants and forms the national database of the diversity of the country's plants.

Threatened species protection programs

Many Australian botanic gardens are involved in projects that identify and protect particular rare or threatened species of plants. These projects may involve the mapping and monitoring of existing populations of plants in the wild, putting in place measures to conserve them in the wild ('in situ' conservation), researching methods for habitat management, or growing and propagating plants away from their natural habitats ('ex situ' conservation). Botanic gardens hold large numbers of plants in their living collections, including Australian native plants and plants from other countries, many of which are now rare or threatened in the wild. Some species of plants are extinct in their natural habitats and survive only because they are cultivated in botanic gardens.

Coordination at a national level

All the major botanic gardens are represented on the Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) which plays a major role in coordinating and stimulating plant conservation activities in Australia. The Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens plays an important role in coordinating the programs undertaken by the eight major State and Territory botanic gardens, by maintaining an inventory of plants in botanic gardens across Australia, and helping the development of regional botanic gardens. The Council reports to the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) on a regular basis.

Community amenity

Botanic gardens provide important social benefits to the community through the provision of cultural facilities, recreational areas, venues for public events and, in some gardens, horticultural therapy for the disabled and disadvantaged. Most importantly, they educate people about horticulture and landscaping, living plants and biological communities, and raise community awareness about biodiversity and plant conservation.

Paying their way

More and more, Australiais botanic gardens are needing to become less dependent on the public purse. Like many overseas botanic gardens, a number now charge general entry fees or fees for special exhibits. Most provide cafes or restaurants for visitors, as well as merchandise in gardensi shops. Thirty-one per cent of visitors now spend money when they visit a botanic garden. Botanic gardens present a wonderful opportunity for sponsorship.

Services and commercial ventures

Many Australian botanic gardens provide services for which fees are paid Ð by the public, special interest groups, government agencies, educational institutions and industry. Such services include plant identification, horticultural, landscaping and arboricultural advice, and pest and disease diagnosis. Botanic gardens are also contributing increasingly to commercial horticultural industries. For example, by developing new varieties of Australian native plants suitable for gardens and the cut flower market.

Australian botanic gardens represented at the Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens meetings are:

The Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens maintains a directory of all Australian botanic gardens, which you will find on the internet at http://www.anbg.gov.au/chabg/bg-dir

For more information on particular regional botanic gardens, contact the main botanic garden in your State.