Education - Community

• Community Events - Autumn
• School Holiday Program
• Guided Walks
• Walking Trails
• Schools

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COMMUNITY EVENTS- Autumn

Each season, the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide community education program produces a guide to community events in the Gardens, titled A Season in the Garden.

There are events for kids and adults. There is something suitable for people who know a lot, a little or nothing at all about plants. Although many events are free, some have a small charge.

Also during autumn are guided walks, workshop, School Holiday Program and more, all designed to delight, entertain and inform.

For full details, download the brochure A Season in the Gardens - Autumn (1.08Mb PDF) or click on the brochure image.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM

Kids having fun learning about plants

Winter School Holiday Program will be posted here when finalised.

Our program has activities for children aged 5 - 12 years. Sessions run for 1 to 2 hours.

Participants create fun art and craft projects while learning about the environment.

We can tailor a program for Vacation Care groups, so call us to discuss your needs.

For enquiries and booking information, call us on (61 8) 8222 9311 during normal office hours.

Guided walks

Regular Guided Walks

A team of specially trained Garden Guides, all members of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, conduct regular guided walks for the public in all the Gardens. The guided walks are given free.

Adelaide Botanic Garden

A Guide with visitors discussing a Queensland lacebark among it's fallen blossoms

North Terrace Adelaide. - Guided Walks in the Adelaide Botanic Garden leave from outside the Visitors Centre at the Schomburgk Pavilion at 10:30am daily (except Christmas Day and Good Friday).

The walks last about one and a half hours and cover a range of topics including the history of the garden, plants of seasonal interest, heritage buildings and sculpture and other items of topical interest. Everyone is welcome.

Groups of more than five people and special interest groups must book in advance. See details below.

Mount Lofty Botanic Garden

Lampert Road, Piccadilly. - Guided walks in the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden leave from the lower carpark at the end of Lampert Road.

10:30am every Thursday in Spring (September, October and November).
10:30am every Thursday in Autumn (March, April and May).

The walks last about one and a half hours. Some paths are steep and narrow, and good walking shoes are essential.

South African Heathland is a feature of Wittunga Botanic Garden

Wittunga Botanic Garden

Shepherd’s Hill Road, Blackwood. - Guided walks leave from the carpark off Shepherd’s Hill Road.

10:30am every Tuesday in Spring (September, October and November).

The walks last about one and a half hours.

Booked Walks

Bookings may be made for groups of five or more to tour any of the Gardens. Special interest walks are also offered and include Aboriginal Plant Use, Plants of the Bible, the Bicentennial Conservatory, Glasshouse Treasures, History of the Adelaide Botanic Garden and others.

Walking Trails

The BankSA Nature Trail

The BankSA Nature Trail is a selfguiding walking trail through an area of managed scrub in the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden and was developed with the support of BankSA. It now forms a section of the Mount Lofty Ranges Heysen Trail.

The trail takes about one hour to walk, is about 850m long and drops about 100m. In places it is very steep and care should be taken at all times, particularly in wet weather.

Ten points of interest are marked on the trail by numbered posts. A self guiding brochure available at both the top and bottom entrances to the trail has information about the history of this area of the garden and the flora and fauna likely to be seen. These vary with the seasons and it is worth walking the trail at different times of the year to note their changes.

Other walking trails in the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden are currently being developed.

Wittunga Naming Walk

A new selfguiding interpretive trail was opened on 7th March 2001 (International Volunteers Day) by the then Minister for the Environment at Wittunga Botanic Garden. The Friends of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, the peak volunteer organisation for the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, provided funds for the development and installation of the trail. Since the then Minister was also responsible for the Volunteers portfolio, the opening of the Naming Walk provided an ideal opportunity to mention and recognise the vaulable contributions of all volunteers.

The concept of the Naming Walk is to demonstrate how plants are named scientifically and the origins of the names whether from a person or characteristic of the plant. There are twenty four independent interpretive signs installed throughout the garden, stationed alongside the appropriate plant.

Schools

School students at Adelaide Botanic Garden on World Environment Day. A guide explains how Aboriginal people prepared the cones of the Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii) for eating

The Adelaide Botanic Garden Education Service provides a wide range of curriculum linked resources for students using the garden as a living museum for learning about the plant world. Over 30 walks in the garden are published in booklet form. They open up integrated learning opportunities for students in science, culture and environmental studies.

Other services for schools include:

• Education Officer assisted lessons
• Teacher training programs
• Extension programs including Minibeasts of the Rainforest
• Special educational events
• Aboriginal guides for indigenous plant use walks

For further information visit the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Education Service website: http://oac.schools.sa.edu.au/outreach/oes/botanic/index.html.