Our different initiatives structured around The Garden have been an integral component of our Valuing Nature strand of work from its inception. Aimed at building the capacity of [botanic] gardens to connect and interact with a wider local public, these projects participate in the fulfilment of one of the essential objectives of the strand: developing creative forms of engagement with communities from an environmentally-friendly perspective. Behind this purpose is the underlying assumption that bridging this gap is the first step to raise awareness about the mutual benefits of human-nature interaction.

Throughout the five years of development and implementation, the initiative has evolved, expanded and provided partners, beneficiaries and ourselves with valuable lessons reflected upon in two evaluation reports (on our partnership with BGCI and with the Geffrye).

The five different projects that made up the ‘Growing the social role of [botanic] gardens’ initiative were the subject of a series of short films available on our site on Vimeo. Through brief interviews with facilitators and participants, the videos weave the projects’ unique narrative, highlighting their particularities as well as their common purpose and value.

Photo by Em Fitzgerald.