Take the survey
Take this quick survey to tell us your vision for the future of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens (the Gardens) occupies a 40 Hectare site on the edge of Lake Wendouree and Gillies Street in Ballarat and is considered to be one of Australia’s premier cool climate gardens. Established in 1858, the Ballarat Botanical Gardens are one of the best examples of a heritage botanic garden in Victoria and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register.
These plans will continue to build on the historic gardens, maintaining their heritage significance and well-loved features.
To guide this work we would like to invite you to tell us what you love about the Gardens, and what you would like to see improved.
Take this quick survey to tell us your vision for the future of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens
Use these interactive maps to see what features are now located at the gardens. You can also drop a pin in an area where you would like to see change or improvement.
Engage with the photo board! Upload your own photos as you wander through the gardens of your favourite spot that you would like to see protected, or areas where you think something new could exist.
The survey closed 5pm, Sunday 21 April 2024.
All feedback will be considered in the development of the final Master Plan, which will then be presented to Council for consideration.
You can also pick up a printed copy of the survey at City of Ballarat sites, including the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ Robert Clark Conservatory, Customer Service and Ballarat Libraries.
The Master Plan replaces the 1995 Ballarat Botanical Gardens Master Plan.
A Master Plan is an integrated, big picture planning document that looks at all the desires, needs and problems of a garden as a whole to come up with an agreed, long-term vision for the place. It protects what’s important, while allowing for change. A Master Plan is a chance to take a step back and look at everything on the site and how it interacts - working with community, neighbours, stakeholders, managers, visitors and anyone with a connection to the gardens, as well as reviewing what is and isn’t working on the site to come up with solutions that work for the garden and everyone who uses it.
A Master Plan is the best way of sensitively managing change, protecting what is important and ensuring all projects work together to provide value for money, meet people’s requirements and care for the site.
A Master Plan eases planning and grant applications, allowing funds to be spent in the most efficient way possible and for small projects to work together to build a larger vision for the gardens. It also ensures that if any change is needed, it has considered all the potential impacts and alternatives, including protecting what people love about the place.
A Master Plan that has been developed in this manner acts as an important planning tool, giving everyone involved the assurance that decisions being carried out are in the best long-term interests of the garden and all that use is.
Yes! Ballarat has been working under a Master Plan for 30 years, and it is now time for a new one. Most of Victoria’s botanic gardens have a Master Plan in place to direct works, including Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and Cranbourne, Bendigo Botanic Gardens, Kyneton Botanic Gardens, Wombat Hill, Williamstown, Hamilton, Colac and Ballarat’s second botanic garden, Buninyong.
Examples of projects at other botanic gardens that have come through Master Planning include the Arid Garden and Guilfoyle’s Volcano at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Woodlands Playspace at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, the Garden for the Future at Bendigo Botanic Gardens, Kyneton Community Park and the indigenous gardens at Williamstown.
The main focus is the Ballarat Botanical Gardens including the North and South Garden Reserves with the area bounded by Wendouree Parade to the east, Carlton Street to the south, Gillies Street to the west and Gregory Street / The Boulevard / St Aidens to the north. While the main focus is on this area, we will also look at how the Gardens connect to the wider landscape, including the Lake Wendouree Foreshore.
The Master Plan is focused on the areas managed as a garden by the City of Ballarat. It is not reviewing the internal layouts of the Fish Hatchery, Federation University, Tram Museum or Ex-Prisoner of War Memorial all of which lay within the original Gardens’ footprint.
A Master Plan considers everything in relation to a garden from irrigation and drainage through to events, how people arrive, pathways, shelters, the focus of the plant collections and potential new projects.
Other than community feedback, we also look at City of Ballarat planning documents, technical reports, the existing site conditions and stakeholder desires. This includes the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, tenants and user groups with a place in the Gardens and the horticultural staff who care for the site. We also look at industry best practice, environmental requirements, the impact of climate change, public expectations, events and use, and the gardens’ place in the network of Australian botanic gardens and the greater Ballarat and goldfields region.
Results from the initial round of consultation will be used to set the project brief, to identify what people love and therefore needs to be protected, and what isn’t working and needs to change. A copy of the consultation report will be made publicly available and will drive the recommendations made in the Master Plan.
Yes! The Draft Master Plan will be released for public comment.
Phone | 5320 5500 |
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info@ballarat.vic.gov.au | |
Website | www.ballarat.vic.gov.au |
In writing | The Phoenix |
The City of Ballarat acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on, the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung People, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
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