A FIFTY-eight-page report exploring the Buninyong Botanic Gardens\u2019 past and future, was released on Friday, 25 June.<\/p>\n
Commissioned by the Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens, Project Botanica<\/em> was workshopped and written over six months in partnership with the RMIT University School of Architecture and Design, and its students.<\/p>\n The report got its official launch at the Buninyong Bowling Club with a community conversation exploring contemporary perspectives on the purposes of old, new, international, and local botanic gardens.<\/p>\n RMIT Bachelor of Landscape Architectural Design program manager Jock Gilbert, and FBBG patron and CEO of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Dr Tim Entwisle presented to 65 people; FBBG members, Buninyong residents and City of Ballarat representatives.<\/p>\n Dr Entwisle said historic green spaces like Buninyong\u2019s are significant assets.<\/p>\n \u201cThe definition of a contemporary botanic garden may simply be that it is an entity with a purpose,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has the opportunity to respond to, reflect and project the culture, community, history, heritage and environment of its location and broader regional context.\u201d<\/p>\n FBBG president Roger Permezel hopes the document will inform the City of Ballarat\u2019s long-term approach to the Buninyong Botanic Gardens.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst Project Botanica is not \u2018the\u2019 vision for the Botanic Gardens masterplan, it was commissioned by [us] as a practical exercise, to illustrate, for the benefit of both community and council, how we could arrive at a mutually agreeable vision to drive the masterplan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of the students\u2019 work is equal to what you\u2019d get in a proper urban planning firm.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hoped that council will provide the opportunity for a comprehensive community-driven visioning process, and the Project Botanica report should be included in the mix for consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Gilbert is not only an academic and \u201cgreen infrastructure\u201d expert, but a passionate Buninyong resident who said \u201cambition\u201d will be key to the success of the master plan, and this report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process itself should be inclusive, visionary… Projects of this nature allow, and demand, both amplification and reduction of established narratives, institutions and entities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The City of Ballarat will host a Buninyong Botanic Gardens community feedback drop-in session at the Buninyong Town Hall from 3pm to 7pm on Thursday, 15 July.<\/p>\n