ImplementingtheGSPCin10steps ... · Contents 02 05 09 14 18 20 24 26 29 30 Editor: Julia Willison...

rootsVolume 6 • Number 1

Botanic Gardens Conservation International Education Review April 2009

Interpretationfor Sustainability

Implementing the GSPC in 10 stepsInterpretación para una visita inolvidableDiscovery carts: interpretation on wheelsOnce upon a time…the power of storytelling

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Contents

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Editor: Julia Willison

Cover Photo: Cover photo: Durban Botanic Garden,South Africa

Design: John Morgan, Seascape. Tel: +44 (0)1273 416842

Forthcoming IssuesVolume 6 Number 2 – International Year of BiodiversityLast submission date June 30 2009

Roots is produced by Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational (BGCI). It is published twice a year and issent to all BGCI members. Membership is open to allinterested individuals, institutions and organisations thatsupport the aims of BGCI (see inside back cover formembership application form).

Further details available from:

• Botanic Gardens Conservation International, DescansoHouse, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3BWUK. Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953, Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5956Email: [email protected], www.bgci.org

• BGCI-Russia, c/o Main Botanical Gardens,Botanicheskaya st., 4, Moscow 127276, Russia.Tel: +7 (095) 219 6160 / 5377, Fax: +7 (095) 218 0525,E-mail: [email protected], www.bgci.ru

• BGCI-Netherlands, c/o Delft University of TechnologyJulianalaan 67, NL-2628 BC Delft, NetherlandsTel: +31 15 278 4714 Fax: +31 15 278 2355email: [email protected]

• BGCI-Canarias, c/o Jardín Botánico Canario Viera yClavijo, Apartado de Correos 14, Tafira Alta 35017,Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain.Tel: +34 928 21 95 80/82/83, Fax: +34 928 21 95 81,E-mail: [email protected]

• BGCI- China, 723 Xingke Rd., Guangzhou 510650 China.Tel:(86)20-37252692. email: [email protected]/china

• BGCI – South East Asia, c/o Registry, Singapore BotanicGardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569.Email: [email protected],

• BGCI-Colombia, c/o Jardín Botánico de Bogotá,Jose Celestino Mutis, Av. No. 61-13 – A.A. 59887,Santa Fe de Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Tel: +57 630 0949,Fax: +57 630 5075, E-mail: [email protected],www.humboldt.org.co/jardinesdecolombia/html/la_red.htm

• BGCI-Deutschland, c/o Botanische Gärten derUniversität Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 171, 53115 Bonn,Germany. Tel: +49 2 2873 9055, Fax: +49 2 28731690,E-mail: [email protected]

• BGCI(US) Inc, c/o Chicago Botanic Garden,1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois 60022, USA.E-mail: [email protected]

BGCI is a worldwide membership organisation establishedin 1987. Its mission is to mobilise botanic gardens andengage partners in securing plant diversity for the well-being of people and the planet. BGCI is an independentorganisation registered in the United Kingdom as a charity(Charity Reg No 1098834) and a company limited byguarantee, No 4673175. BGCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3)non-profit organisation in the USA and is a registerednon-profit organisation in Russia.

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarilyreflect the views of the Boards or staff of BGCI or of itsmembers.

EditorialJulia Willison, Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Interpretation master planning: creating holistic narrativeexperiencesJames Furse-Roberts, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Consulting, UK

Interpreting nature: connecting to visitor understandingsAmy E. Ryken, University of Puget Sound, USA

Interpretación para una visita inolvidablePaola Sierra Manrique, Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis, Colombia

Discovery carts: interpretation on wheelsMarilyn Smith, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, USA

Once upon a time….the power of story tellingMartin Clement, Durban Botanic Garden, South Africa

Olympic exhibition: promoting the work of botanic gardensXiangying Wen, BGCI, South China Botanical Garden, China

Implementing the GSPC in 10 stepsLouise Allen, University of Oxford Botanic Garden, UK, Karoline Friedrich,Iris Kiefer, Wolfram Lobin, Cornelia Loen, Marliese von den Driesch,University of Bonn Botanic Garden, Germany, Junko Oikawa

Wwwhat’s the Web got to do with us?BGCI

ResourcesEducational resources for botanic gardens

Roots• Vol 6 (1)

For the French Section:

Loïc Ruellan – Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest, FranceAnne Lindsey – FranceAllison Marshall – FranceThierry Helminger – Arboretum Kirchberg, Musée Nationald’Histoire Naturelle, Luxembourg

For the Spanish Section:

Maricela Rodriguez Acosta – Herbario y Jardín Botánico de laBenemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, MexicoAntonio Lopez Quintana – Universidad de Pais Vasco, Bilbao, SpainLourdes Rico-Arce – Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UKVeronica Franco – Jardín Botánico Xiitbal neek, Mexico

For the English Section:

Chris HobsonDavid JeffreysRobert Orr

BGCI would like to thank the co-editors for their work in the production of Roots:

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Interprétation pour le développement durable

Interpretación para la sostenibilidad

Editorial - English

In its conjunction of planting and place,of history and culture, the botanicgarden is a microcosm of humankind’srelationship with the natural world. Nomatter how familiar the scene,everywhere you look there is a story tobe told, a message to be conveyed.And with more than 200 million peopleworldwide visiting botanic gardensevery year, the challenge of engagingwith them meaningfully grows apace.Around the world gardens deploy animpressive range of strategies tocapture the public’s attention andinterpret what they see - from guidedtours, signage, discovery carts andexhibitions through to websites, blogsand podcasts.

A recurring question for botanicgardens everywhere is ‘what do wewant to interpret and communicate?’While picking out the salient narrativesand messages from the abundance ofmaterial contained within a gardenremains a challenge, for most gardensthere is probably one topic that standshead and shoulders above the rest interms of importance, namely plantconservation. We’re all aware that ourenvironment is under immense pressurefrom human activity and itsconsequences and we only have tolook at what’s happening now in theglobal economy to get a sense that our‘business as usual’ model of the worldis not working. People are searchingfor alternative solutions. Now, surely,is a golden opportunity for gardens todevelop their interpretation in a waythat engages their visitors’ imaginationsand encourages them to re-evaluatetheir attitudes and ways of living?

Editorial - Français

Par sa mise en relation de la plantationavec le site, avec l’histoire et la culture,le jardin botanique est un microcosmequi représente les relations de l’humanitéavec le monde naturel. Peu importecomment une scène est familière,partout où vous regardez, il y a unehistoire à raconter, un message àtransmettre. Et avec mondialement plusde 200 millions de personnes visitant lesjardins botaniques chaque année, le défide les interpeller de façon raisonnable sedéveloppe sans doute rapidement. Depar le monde les jardins déploient unegamme impressionnante de stratégiespour attirer l’attention du public et pourinterpréter ce qu’ils voient.

Une question récurrente pour tous lesjardins botaniques est ‘que voulons-nous interpréter et communiquer?’Tandis que la sélection des récits et desmessages saillants dans l’abondancede matériel que fournit un jardin resteun défi, il y a probablement pour laplupart des jardins une matièreprépondérante, dépassant toutes lesautres en termes d’importance, à savoirla conservation des plantes. Nous nousrendons tous compte que notreenvironnement se trouve sous uneimmense pression à la suite desactivités humaines et de leursconséquences et nous n’avons qu’àobserver ce qui se passe actuellementau niveau de l’économie globale pourcomprendre que notre modèle du‘business as usual’ ne fonctionne pas.Les gens sont à la recherche desolutions alternatives. Maintenant estcertainement une occasion magnifiquepour les jardins de développer leurinterprétation d’une manière à engager

Editorial - Español

En la conjunción de colecciones yterritorio, de historia y cultura, el jardínbotánico es un microcosmos donde serefleja la relación de la humanidad con lanaturaleza. Independientemente de lofamiliar que nos resulte, allí donde semire hay una historia que contar o unmensaje que transmitir. Con más de 200millones de visitantes cada año, eldesafío de lograr el interés de formaactiva y significativa es cada vez mayor.Por todo el mundo los jardinesdespliegan una impresionante variedadde estrategias para captar la atencióndel público y dar interpretación a lo queobservan: desde visitas guiadas,señalización, ‘carros para eldescubrimiento’, múltiples exposiciones,incluso sitios webs, blogs y podcasts.

Una cuestión repetida por los jardinesbotánicos en cualquier lugar es ‘¿quéqueremos interpretar y qué comunicar?’.Si bien el destacar y el subrayar elmensaje que contiene cada jardíntodavía resulta un desafío, hay un temaque sobresale por encima de todos enimportancia, y éste es el de laconservación de las especies de plantas.Todos somos conscientes de quenuestro entorno sufre la enorme presióny las consecuencias de la actividadhumana y no tenemos más que mirar alo que está pasando en la economíaglobal para sentir que el modelo de lafrase hecha ‘¿los negocios?, comosiempre’ no funciona. La gente buscasoluciones alternativas. Es el momentoy la oportunidad, única, de desarrollar eltrabajo de interpretación por caminosque interesen a la imaginación de losvisitantes para reconsiderar susactitudes y estilos de vida.

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 02-04

Julia Willison

Interpretationfor sustainability

02

Interpretation is a vast subject and thisissue of Roots barely scratches thesurface of what there is to know.James Furse-Roberts, SeniorConsultant at Wildfowl and WetlandTrust, UK, sets the scene for us bylooking at the big picture. Heemphasises the importance of holisticinterpretative planning for visitorexperiences and offers us a four-stageplanning process. Amy Ryken,Associate Professor at the University ofPuget Sound, USA, shares her findingsfrom an eight-month study sheundertook into visitor engagement atthe W.W. Seymour BotanicalConservatory in Tacoma, Washington.Amy’s study, also informed by her visitsto botanic gardens in Canada, UK, andUSA, is illuminating and encourages usto reconsider our views of learning andnature in relation to visitor worldviews.Her approach is echoed by PaolaSierra Manrique, EducationCoordinator at the José CelestinoMutis Botanic Garden in Bogota, whooutlines her analysis of what shebelieves would make an unforgettablevisit to the garden.

We also explore some of theinterpretative techniques that gardensare using to engage their public.Marilyn Smith, Director of Children’sEducation at Brooklyn Botanic Garden,USA, writes about the benefits of usingdiscovery carts and explains thepracticalities. And Martin Clement,Head of Education at the DurbanBotanic Garden, South Africa,describes how his team use storytelling to draw on existing indigenousknowledge systems in developing moremeaningful action-based programmes.If you’re interested in finding out more,please join us in Durban this year forBGCI’s 7th International Congress onEducation in Botanic Gardens (seeback cover of Roots).

Interpretation can be used to raiseawareness at many different levels andincreasingly we are seeing national andinternational collaboration betweenbotanic gardens aimed at focusingattention on the need for plantconservation. Last summer, BGCI,Popular Science Network of BotanicGardens, Chinese Academy ofSciences and Beijing MunicipalScience and Technology Committee

l’imagination de leurs visiteurs et de lesencourager à ré-évaluer leurs attitudeset modes de vie.

L’interprétation est un sujet très vaste etcette issue de Roots raye à peine lasurface de tout ce qu’on peut savoir surla question. James Furse-Roberts,conseiller au Wildfowl and WetlandTrust, R-U, nous prépare la scène entraçant les grandes lignes. Il soulignel’importance d’une planificationinterprétative d’ensemble pourl’expérience du visiteur et nous proposeun processus de planification en quatreétapes. Amy Ryken, professeur agrégéà l’université de Puget Sound, États-Unis, nous fait part des résultats d’uneétude de huit mois, qu’elle a menée ausujet de l’interpellation des visiteurs auconservatoire botanique de W.W.Seymour à Tacoma, Washington.L’étude d’Amy, renseignée aussi par sesvisites de jardins botaniques auCanada, R-U, et aux États-Unis, estadmirable et nous encourage àreconsidérer nos vues surl’apprentissage et la nature par rapportaux visions du monde des visiteurs.Paola Sierra Manrique, coordinatriced’éducation au jardin botanique de JoséCelestino Mutis à Bogota, fait écho decette approche en rendant son analysede ce qui selon elle ferait une visiteinoubliable au jardin.

Nous explorons également certainesdes techniques interprétatives que lesjardins emploient pour interpeller leurpublic. Marilyn Smith, directeur del’éducation des enfants au jardinbotanique de Brooklyn, États-Unis, écritau sujet des avantages d’utiliser deschariots de découverte et explique lescaractères pratiques. Et Martin Clement,chef de l’éducation au jardin botaniquede Durban, Afrique du Sud, décritcomment son équipe utilise les contesparlés pour se baser sur les systèmesde connaissances indigènes existantsafin de développer des programmesd’action plus significatifs. Si vous êtesintéressé à en savoir plus, joignez-nousdonc à Durban, cette année pour le7ème congrès international de BGCI surl’éducation dans les jardins botaniques(voyez au dos de Roots).

L’interprétation peut être un outil pouraméliorer la prise de conscience à denombreux niveaux différents et de plusen plus nous voyons des collaborations

La interpretación es un tema tanamplio, que éste número de Roots sólosomeramente puede abordar lo muchoque se sabe. James Furse-Roberts,Senior Consultant del Comisariado deHumedales y Aves, Reino Unido, nosintroduce en el panorama centrando elplano general. Destaca la importanciade una planificación interpretativaholística enfocada a partir de laexperiencia del visitante y ofrececuatro estadios en el proceso.Amy Ryken, Catedrática Asociada dela Universidad de Puget Sound, EEUU,muestra los hallazgos de suinvestigación de ocho meses deduración, analizando el interés de losvisitantes en el W.W. SeymourBotanical Conservatory en Tacoma,Washington. El estudio de Amy,completado con visitas a diversosjardines botánicos de Canadá, ReinoUnido y EEUU, es clarificador y animaa reconsiderar nuestra visión delaprendizaje y la naturalezacontrastándolos con los puntos devista del visitante. Su enfoque serefleja en el de Paola Sierra Manrique,Coordinadora de Educación del JardínBotánico José Celestino Mutis deBogotá, quien subraya en su análisis loque de verdad hace de la visita aljardín una experiencia inolvidable parael visitante.

Examinamos también algunas de lastécnicas de interpretación que losjardines botánicos utilizan parainteresar al público. Marilyn Smith,Directora de Educación Infantil delBrooklyn Botanic Garden, EEUU, relatael provecho de las performancesmediante las ‘carretas para eldescubrimiento’ y explica suconveniencia. Martin Clement, Jefe deEducación en el Durban BotanicGarden, Sudáfrica, describe cómo suequipo usa los cuentacuentos paraextraer del conocimiento indígenasistemas que desarrollen programasactivos más significativos. Si Vd. estáinteresado en averiguar más, únase anosotros este año con motivo del 7ºCongreso Internacional de Educaciónen Jardines Botánicos en Durban enSudáfrica (ver portada trasera deRoots).

La interpretación puede usarse paradespertar la conciencia a muchosniveles, y estamos presenciando lacolaboración activa entre jardines

Roots• Vol 6 (1) 03

took advantage of the BeijingOlympics to mount the first WorldBotanic Garden Exhibition. Theexhibition was in a prime location,close to the Olympic Village, and wasvisited by tens of thousands ofpeople. In this issue Xiangying Wen,BGCI’s China Project Office, examinesthe development of the exhibition andits aim of publicising the work of 70botanic gardens worldwide. Anotherglobal event held last year in Germanywas the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity– a conference which brought togethergovernment environmentalrepresentatives from all over the globeto discuss the fate of the world’sbiodiversity. In their article, staff atBonn Botanic Garden, Germany andthe University of Oxford BotanicGarden, describe a collaborationwhich raised awareness of the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation tohundreds of government officials.

By working together, sharing theirinterpretative expertise andexperience, botanic gardens andrelated institutes are able to present aconcerted and far more powerful casefor plant conservation than if they doso by themselves. This year PlantConservation Day (PCD) provides justthat opportunity. Botanic gardens,zoos and other institutions worldwidewill be using May 18th to celebrateplants and raise awareness of theneed for their conservation. Withsupport from the Boeing Corporation,BGCI is revamping the PCD websiteand partnering with gardens inAustralia, China, Russia, UK and theUSA to run a series of excitingeducation and interpretationprogrammes. Why not join in?Visit the websitewww.plantconservationday.org forideas and resources.

nationales et internationales entre lesjardins botaniques visant à concentrerl’attention sur la nécessité de conserverles plantes. L’été dernier, l’AcadémieChinoise des Sciences, BGCI et leComité Municipal de la Science et de laTechnologie de Pékin ont tiré profit desJeux Olympiques de Pékin pour monterla première Exposition Mondiale deJardins Botaniques. L’exposition étaitsituée dans un endroit privilégié, prèsdu village olympique, et a été visitée pardes dizaines de milliers de personnes.Dans cette issue Xiangying Wen, dubureau de projet Chine de BGCI,examine le développement del’exposition et son but de rendre publicle travail de 70 jardins botaniques dansle monde entier. Un autre événementglobal, qui s’est déroulé l’année dernièreen Allemagne, était la Conférence desParties à la Convention sur la DiversitéBiologique - une conférence, qui arassemblé les représentantsenvironnementaux des gouvernementsde par le globe, pour discuter du destinde la biodiversité mondiale. Dans leurarticle, le personnel du jardin botaniquede Bonn, Allemagne et du jardinbotanique de l’université d’Oxford,décrivent une collaboration qui permisde mieux promouvoir la StratégieGlobale pour la Conservation desPlantes auprès des centaines defonctionnaires gouvernementaux.

En travaillant ensemble, partageant leurexpertise et expérience interprétatives,les jardins botaniques et institutsassociés peuvent présenter uneargumentation concertée et bien pluspuissante pour la conservation desplantes qu’à eux seuls. Cette année, laJournée de la Conservation des Plantes(Plant Conservation Day. PCD) fournitjustement une telle occasion. Lesjardins botaniques, les zoos et d’autresétablissements dans le monde entierutiliseront le 18 mai pour célébrer lesplantes et améliorer la prise deconscience de la nécessité de leurconservation. Avec l’appui de BoeingCorporation, BGCI est en train derefondre le site Web de PCD ets’associe avec des jardins en Australie,en Chine, en Russie, au R-U et auxÉtats-Unis pour lancer une série deprogrammes d’éducation etd’interprétation passionnants. Pourquoine pas se joindre à eux ? Visitez le siteWeb www.plantconservationday.orgpour des idées et des ressources.

botánicos, también internacionalmente,dirigida a centrar la atención en lanecesidad de la conservación de lasespecies de plantas. El pasado veranola Academia de Ciencias China, elBGCI y el Comité Municipal de Beijingpara la Ciencia y la Tecnología,aprovechando las Olimpiadas dePekín, organizaron la 1ª ExposiciónMundial de Jardines Botánicos.Instalada en un lugar privilegiado, juntoa la Villa Olímpica, fue visitada pordecenas de miles de personas.Xiangying Wen, de la Oficina del BGCIChina Project, revisa en este número eldesarrollo de la exposición y suobjetivo central de publicitar el trabajode 70 jardines botánicos de todo elmundo. Otro evento de caráctermundial ha tenido lugar en Alemania,la Conferencia de las Partes de laConvención sobre DiversidadBiológica, reuniendo a representantesmedioambientales de todo el mundopara discutir el futuro de labiodiversidad global. El personal delJardín Botánico de Bonn (Alemania)junto con el de la Universidad deOxford, presentan una colaboraciónque elevó la conciencia de cientos defuncionarios gubernamentales acercade la Estrategia Global para laConservación de las Plantas.

Es así, trabajando juntos,compartiendo experiencia yhabilidades en interpretación, como losjardines botánicos pueden proponer enlas agendas de las instituciones elproblema de la conservación de lasplantas de una manera másconcertada y convincente queindividualmente. Precisamente esteaño el Día de la Conservación de lasPlantas (su acrónimo en inglés PCD)nos brinda esa oportunidad: jardines,zoológicos e instituciones de todo elmundo utilizarán la fecha del 18 deMayo para celebrar las plantas yaumentar la conciencia de suconservación. Con el apoyo de la firmaBoeing, el BGCI reajusta la web delPCD y colabora con jardines deAustralia, China, Rusia, Reino Unido yEEUU en la puesta en marcha de unaserie de animados programaseducativos y de interpretación.¿Por qué no participa? Visite la webwww.plantconservationday.org dondeencontrará ideas y recursos.

Roots• Vol 6 (1)04

Introduction

Botanic gardens have been interpretingtheir collections since their inception.That is to say that plants in botanicalcollections have always hadinformation associated with them thatinstitutions have wanted to impart tousers of the collections. Just think ofthe European physic gardens set up toteach aspiring doctors the medicinalproperties of plants or the Victoriansystematic order beds laid out to teachbotany. Indeed, it could be argued thatgrowing plants with the aim of usingthem to inform visitors, be theyspecialist academics or curiousmembers of the general public, is oneof the key differences that sets

Planification générale de l’interprétation: le développement d’expériences narratives globales

Plan maestro de Interpretación: creación de experiencias narrativas holísticas

botanical collections apart from normalgardens. However, even with this longhistory, the quality of interpretationfound in botanic gardens has onlyrecently started to improve; partlybecause it is only recently that therehas been a commonplaceunderstanding that this is an activitythat needs to be discussed, studiedand planned for.

Where do you start?

Before we address this question it isbest to define a few terms.‘Interpretation’ is now widelyunderstood as broadly being theprocess of communicating informationin museums, heritage centres etc.

However, terms used to describe theprocess of planning interpretation areless well defined, such as ‘masterplan’and ‘interpretation masterplan’,sometimes also referred to as an‘educational masterplan’.

For the purpose of this article, amasterplan can be thought of as aguidebook, a point of reference, thatcan be used when one looks up fromimmersion in the minutia of running abusy garden and wonders ‘Are we stillheading in the right direction?’ or whenone is setting out to create a newbotanic garden. Within such adocument one would expect to findelements that address, among others,the business needs of the garden, itsconservation aims, landscaping andeducational purposes. Given the scopeof these topics, the masterplan cannotbe a detailed prescription and indeed ifit were, with the need to adapt andevolve over time, it would probably beobsolete before fully implemented.

James Furse-Roberts

Interpretation master planning:creating holisticnarrative experiences

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 05-08 05

Summary Interpretative master planning has

been around in a professional form for several decades.

However, much of the text and approaches that have been

developed are based on the interpretation of heritage

sites. While this work can be of use, botanic gardens are

different and require a different approach. By ensuring that

adequate thought is given to the visitor experience, being

clear about the top-level outcomes, developing the

interpretation plan in a holistic manner with the other elements of the

masterplan, and by telling strong stories through layered media, a botanic

garden’s interpretation can become an effective way of delivering core

aims, building a rapport with visitors and effecting changes in behaviour.

Left: Messages

of sustainability

are infused

throughout The

Eden Project

(The Eden

Project)

06 Roots• Vol 6 (1)

Be clear about the top-level outcomes

Is your garden interested in raisingawareness of a particular habitat or theflora of a particular area? Does it havea mission to encourage a change inpeople’s behaviour to protect plants?Or perhaps an aim to enhance people’swellbeing? Without a clearunderstanding of the desiredoutcomes, an interpretation masterplancannot be devised that leads towardsthem. The mission of MissouriBotanical Garden, USA, for example‘To discover and share knowledgeabout plants and their environment,in order to preserve and enrich life’can be seen to underpin the whole ofthe garden’s interpretation.

Be holistic

It was mentioned earlier in this articlethat many interpretation masterplansare developed separately from andwithout consideration of the overallmasterplan for the garden. This is notonly likely to have operationalimplications for the delivery ofinterpretation on-site but a lack ofjoined-up thinking will also mean thatopportunities are being missed toinfuse your garden with your messages.The Eden Project (Cornwall, UK) is anexample of an institute that carries itsmessages through everything it does.One illustration of this is the sachets ofsugar provided in the restaurant whichcarry interpretation about the origin ofsugar. There are a range of reasonswhy communicating through cateringdoes not happen in all botanic gardens(including a concern about the unit costof sugar sachets!), but the point is thatthe more channels you can find tocommunicate your messages through,the more effective your interpretationwill be.

Think experience

Closely linked to an holistic approach isconsideration of the visitor experienceduring the interpretation masterplanning process. We live in an agedriven by what Pine and Gilmore (1998)have termed the ‘experience economy’.Whereas there was a time when peoplespent money on food for the purpose ofnourishment many of us now pay extrafor the experience that accompaniesthat food. For example, one could

Before we apply this process tobotanic gardens it is worth askingourselves whether they are similarenough to national parks and otherheritage sites to use the sameapproach. Whilst both are usuallyoutdoor spaces with plants growingwithin them, there are some keydifferences. Heritage sites are usually anatural feature, landscape or a human-made structure of antiquity. As such,they invariably have a limited numberof features to interpret. Those featuresthey do have are usually static and themain aim of the interpretation is to tellthe visitor about the location. Botanicgardens, on the other hand, have largenumbers of individual specimens,displayed in a human-madeenvironment with the aim of impartingspecific, and sometimes complex,ideas. With the increasedconcentration on conservation, manybotanic gardens take this further andwant to influence the behaviour of theirvisitors in a way that supports plantconservation and sustainability.

Planning for interpretation in botanicgardens

Whether you have an existing gardenwith an extensive collection or an areaof land awaiting development, it isimportant to carry out an inventory ofthe site and collection. This will helpyou think about the relationshipsbetween these objects, the locationsand the stories they can be used totell. This discussion should quickly leadto questions such as “What are wetrying to achieve?” and “What is ourpurpose?”

An interpretation masterplan is thesection within the larger masterplan thatdetails the messages the garden wantsto impart and the ways that this mightbe achieved. Wrongly, they are oftenspoken of as documents that standalone from the other aspects of thegarden’s masterplan. The aim of thisarticle is to show that not only doeshaving an interpretation masterplanintegrated with the overall masterplanbenefit the delivery of education but itwill also benefit the garden by improvingthe visitor experience.

Hundreds of years ago, mediaevalmonks were laying out their sanatoriumgardens in the form of a human bodyas an aide memoir. Herbs were plantedat the points on the body that relatedto their area of treatment. Despite this,interpretation as a subject orprofession only began to becomeformalised around the 1950s. In 1957,Freeman Tilden, who worked for theUnited States National Park Service,wrote ‘Interpreting Our Heritage’, oneof the first texts on interpretation.Since then, the principles that Tildenlaid out have formed the backbone formost of the interpretation masterplanning of heritage sites.

Using Tilden’s approach, a typicalinterpretation master planning processfor a heritage site or national park mayconsist of conducting an inventory ofobjects and locations, deciding on thethemes to be interpreted, reviewing thebudget and management constraintsbefore delivering a plan that outlines themost favourable method of interpretationfor each object or location.

Right: The

Minnesota

Landscape

Arboretum,

USA, creates

memorable and

meaningful

experiences for

children and

families

(Sandy Tanck,

Minnesota

Landscape

Arboretum,

USA)

07Roots• Vol 6 (1)

theatre. In adulthood, even though weare better at distinguishing reality,stories can be equally magical. A goodstoryteller, be they using the writtenword, voice or drama, can manipulateour emotions and in so doingstrengthen the effect that story has onus. Stories crafted to deliverinformation can harness this emotivepower and provide a structure whichthe visitor can use to organise theirexisting knowledge and the newknowledge they are gaining.

The number of plant species in abotanic garden means that there is anunlimited supply of stories. For eachplant in the collection it will be possibleto relay far more stories than there isspace for. If you want convincing ofthis, it is worth reading Conway’sarticle on ‘How to exhibit a bullfrog’(1973). It was written with zoo directorsand designers in mind but neverthelessdemonstrates that good exhibitionsrely on the quality of the stories toldnot the number or rarity of specimens.The narrative style within which it iswritten also reinforces the point.

Continuing with Pine and Gilmore’stheatrical analogy, one can think ofeach specimen as a character with awhole lifetime’s worth of stories. Someof these stories will be individual tothem while others will be shared byother specimens in the collection.The job of the interpretation plan is todecide what overall story the visitor willbe presented with and to orchestratehow each of the characters will tell theparts of their stories that are mostrelevant.

also be included as in the GreenWorkshops run at the Conservatoryand Botanic Garden of the City ofGeneva, Switzerland, where childrenconstructed bird boxes, among otheractivities. Designing and deliveringgood visitor experiences requiresstepping outside the traditional boundsof interpretation into the areas suchas marketing, catering, eventmanagement, landscape design andarchitecture.

Tell strong stories

We have looked at the importance ofcreating an experience for the visitorbut experiences don’t necessarilycommunicate information. Informationcan be interesting but, as statementsthat stand alone, it can be difficult toput them into context or derive agreater understanding from them.This returns us to Tilden’s principles,in particular the first two, which state:

1. Any interpretation that does notsomehow relate what is beingdisplayed or described to somethingwithin the personality or experienceof the visitor will be sterile.

2. Information, as such, is notinterpretation. Interpretation isrevelation based on information.But they are entirely different things.However, all interpretation includesinformation.

We are all familiar with how powerfulstorytelling can be; as children webecame immersed in the alternativerealities created by books, films and

make a cup of coffee at home butmany prefer to pay more for having theexperience of drinking coffee out, withthe added experience of choice,service and social statement thataccompanies it. Pine & Gilmore (1998)give the following definition ofexperience.

‘An experience occurs when acompany intentionally uses services asthe stage, and goods as props, toengage individual customers in a waythat creates a memorable event.’

Botanic gardens are a part of thiseconomy. Nature tourism is on theincrease and as such gardens offerexcellent locations for social outings.Having said that, this is not such a newphenomenon, one hundred years agoin 1908, W. J. Bean, the then Directorof the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,noted that “to nine tenths of the peoplewho visit Kew...it is simply a beautifulgarden - a place in which to spend afew pleasant hours”. The purpose of avisit to most large botanic gardens is tohave a social or recreationalexperience. Whether this experienceoccurs in a botanic garden or amuseum is a secondary considerationdecided by the prospect of the overallexperience on offer. Further evidenceof this is the ranking of botanicgardens, zoos and museums as ‘visitorattractions’ in the same category astheme parks and other touristattractions. It follows therefore thatcomparable experience needs to beoffered by botanic gardens if visitorsare to continue to choose them overthe other destinations in the list.

To compete successfully in this marketfor the visitors’ time, and thus theopportunity to influence them, botanicgardens must find ways to engagevisitors with memorable andmeaningful events. Good visitorexperiences should consist of the threeelements of unexpectedness, socialinteraction and sensory stimulation.For example, the MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum, USA, created anature-play space ‘Under the Oak’where children came together to buildsimple forts, crawl through a willowtunnel and decorate a child-sizedbutterfly’s wings. If possible, a fourthelement, something that can be takenaway to prolong the experience, should

Left: Experience

in nature helps

stimulate

emotional

development.

The urge to

build is

particularly

strong between

the ages of

8-11.

(Sandy Tanck,

Minnesota

Landscape

Arboretum,

USA)

Layer media

We all have preferences for how welike to receive information. Somepeople like to read text, others to listento an explanation or watch ademonstration. Therefore if we only useone medium to deliver a message youcan be sure that for a lot of the visitorsthis will not be their favoured medium.Guided tours are one of the mostfrequently used media for interpretationin botanic gardens (>90% of botanicgardens in the UK); however,operational limitations mean that only asmall percentage (<1.5% in UK) ofvisitors will ever experience them.Interpretation boards are also a popularchoice but can exclude whole sectionsof visitors (Furse-Roberts 2005). It istherefore important to ensure that eachinterpretational element is deliveredthrough a variety of media. Anexample of this is the Big Answers toBig Questions programme run by theBotanic Gardens Trust, Sydney in 2006where over 2,000,000 people werereached through debate, web andradio.

Conclusion

It is important that the interpretationplan is thought of in conjunction withand tied into the other elements of themasterplan. When writing theinterpretation plan ensure thatadequate thought has been given tothe visitor experience. Be clear aboutthe top level outcomes. Be holistic.Think experience. Tell strong storiesand layer media.

References

�Bean, WJ (1908) The Royal BotanicGardens, Kew: Historical anddescriptive. Cassell and CompanyLtd, London

�Conway, WC (1973) How to exhibit abullfrog: a bed-time story for zoomen. International Zoo Yearbook 13:221-226

�Furse-Roberts, JM (2005) BotanicGarden Creation and Management:The feasibility and design of newBritish collections. PhD Thesis,University of Reading, UK

�Pine, JB, Gilmore, J (1998) Welcometo the Experience Economy. HarvardBusiness Review, 76 (4) p 97-106

�Tilden, F (2008) Interpreting OurHeritage 4th Edition. The Universityof North Carolina Press, USA

Résumé

La planification générale del’interprétation s’opère sous formeprofessionnelle depuis plusieursdécennies. Toutefois, la plupart desécrits et des stratégies développés seréfèrent à l’interprétation de sites dupatrimoine. Bien que ce travail puisseêtre utile, les jardins botaniques sontdifférents et nécessitent donc uneapproche différente. Par l’assurancequ’une réflexion appropriée soit priseen compte dans l’expérience du public,qui soit claire par rapport aux résultats

finaux, tout en concevant le pland’interprétation de manière globaleincluant les autres éléments du plandirecteur, et par la proposition demessages puissants par le biais deméthodes multicouches, le systèmed’interprétation d’un jardin botaniquepeut devenir un outil efficace pouratteindre des objectifs centraux, enétablissant un bon rapport avec sonpublic et en mettant en place deschangements de comportement.

Resumen

Se han utilizado los planes maestrosde interpretación desde hace algunasdécadas. Sin embargo, mucho deltexto y de las propuestas que se handesarrollado se basan en experienciasde interpretación del patrimonio. Sibien estas experiencias pueden serútiles, los jardines botánicos sondiferentes y requieren de una diferenteaproximación. Asegurando unadecuado desarrollo del pensamientoen la experiencia del visitante, teniendoclaridad en lo s resultados queesperamos, desarrollando el planinterpretativo de forma holística con losotros elementos del plan maestro yparticipando seriamente y aprofundidad en los medios decomunicación, el trabajo interpretativode los jardines botánicos puedeconvertirse en una forma efectiva detransmitir los mensajes centralesconstruyendo un rapport entre susvisitantes y cambios efectivos en susconductas.

Dr James Furse-RobertsSenior ConsultantWildfowl and Wetlands TrustConsulting, SlimbridgeGloucestershire GL2 7BT, UKEmail: [email protected]: www.wwt.org.uk

James Furse-Roberts provides clientswith master planning of visitor centresand natural history interpretation. HisPhD thesis examines the creation andmanagement of botanic gardens and isavailable from the BGCI website(www.bgci.org/global/botanic_garden_master_planning).


Right: Children

constructing

bird boxes at a

green workshop

run at the

Conservatory

and Botanic

Garden of the

City of Geneva,

Switzerland

(Conservatory

and Botanic

Garden of the

City of Geneva,

Switzerland)

Introduction

Botanic gardens are increasinglyfocusing educational initiatives on thecomplex topics of global climatechange and sustainability (Forrest,2008; Qwathekana and Midgley, 2008;Romano, 2008). We expect visitors tolearn much as they experiencegardens, but how much and what type

of learning might we reasonablyexpect (Balis, 1999; Rennie &Johnston, 2004)? The goal of learningand experiencing is to encourage achange in people’s perceptions andultimately behaviour and this involvesusing interpretation. But the terminterpretation raises a critical questionfor our consideration — Who is doingthe interpreting . . . scientists, gardeneducators, or visitors? This questionchallenges us to reflect on our viewsof learning.

visitor received a particular message(Freire, 1970; Oakes & Lipton, 1999).This view of learning suggests thatgardens should work thoughtfully todefine and fully transmit coherenteducational messages or enduringunderstandings (Wiggins and McTighe,1997). In contrast, in the contextualmodel, learners are viewed as activemeaning-makers, or interpreters;learning is framed as a complexcontext-dependent social processwhere the primary concern is whetheror not visitors are forming connectionsthrough their previous and subsequentexperiences (Dewey, 1938; Falk &Dierking, 2000). This view of learningsuggests that visitors generate theirown highly personalised meaningsfrom the same exhibition experience(Diamond, 1999; Falk & Dierking, 2000;Marstine, 2006; Sandell, 2007) and thatgardens should implement strategies

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 09-13 09

Interpréter la nature: à l’écoute de la compréhension du public

Interpretación de la naturaleza: conectando el entendimiento del visitante

Amy E. Ryken

Interpreting nature:connecting to visitor understandings

Summary Providing interpretation in a botanic garden offers us

a challenge. Not only do we want to nurture visitors’ unique

interpretations, we also want them to explore issues in a thoughtful way.

In this article I compare two views of learning — the transmission model

and the contextual model. To demonstrate that simply providing

information limits our view of teaching and learning, I consider four

different ways that visitors understood and interpreted nature within the

W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory in Tacoma, Washington, USA.

Too often we focus on whether or not visitors understand a particular

interpretative message rather than how visitors create their own

interpretations from these natural settings. To help this process and

foster learning in botanic gardens, I offer some questions

for consideration.

Two views oflearning

Botanic gardens arebut one part of alarge educationalinfrastructureincluding families,schools, print andbroadcast media,

museums, libraries, community-basedorganisations and the Internet (Falk &Dierking, 2000). Considering twodifferent views of learning can help usredefine garden interpretation. Debatesabout the transmission and contextualmodels of learning have a long historyand are far from new. In thetransmission model, learners areviewed as passive recipients of pre-interpreted messages and learning isframed as a cognitive experience; theprimary concern is whether or not the

Left: Plant sign

at National

Botanic Garden,

Washington,

D.C., focusing

on the

importance of

conserving

natural

resources and

encouraging

visitors to view

‘Nature in peril’

(Holly Senn)


pollinator has a mate that looks like thebloom? I’d love to read more aboutthe evolution of plants here with exoticfeatures and know how/why thevarieties arise. Details about leaf andpetal patterns and numbers per bloomwould be interesting.”

“I saw a pattern. In South America,Spanish moss grows on large branchesand orchids grow out of this medium.In the same way, big leaf maplesprovide a structure for moss and ferns.Everywhere living things cooperate,sharing space, nutrients, etc.”

Taxonomic displays, either spacesdevoted to different types of plants(e.g., palm house, cactus house) orplants grouped by genus andmeticulously labeled by scientificname, are one interpretative strategythat gardens, such as the VolunteerPark Conservatory in Seattle,Washington, USA use to present plantsas a source of scientific knowledge.Alternatively, some gardens, like theNew York Botanical Garden,emphasise the processes of science.Interpretative panels include closeobservation reminders (e.g., Did younotice? or Look closer), questions thatscientists investigate (e.g., Why didcertain physical traits evolve?), orhighlight field research. At Kew’sMillennium Seed Bank, scientists atwork are on display for visitors toobserve.

Framing nature as a source of scientificknowledge emphasises that collecting,sorting, and organising is a form ofinquiry; studying objects generates

teaching and learning, as well as howwe represent nature to visitors.

Four interpretations of nature

Conservatory visitors interpreted thesame setting very differently, 1) seeingnature as source of scientificknowledge, 2) as creation, 3) as ahuman resource, 4) or in peril. Gardensalso use one or more of theseinterpretations when displaying nature,despite the fact that theseperspectives may be in tension — forexample, seeing nature as a source ofscientific knowledge versus seeingnature as creation. Below I sharerepresentative visitor reflections, giveexamples of how each interpretationwas addressed in botanic gardens Ivisited, and highlight tensions.

Nature as a source of scientificknowledge

Some conservatory visitors sawnature as a source of scientificknowledge, oftenemphasising the scientificsearch for patterns in thenatural world.

“By displaying examples thatreflect what I’ve learned in class,my understanding of the naturalworld is reinforced. I’m curiousabout the bloom of the plant thatresembles a ‘large bug’. What natural

that invite visitor interaction, response,and interpretations (Sandell, 2007,Shakespear, 2008).

Examining visitor interpretations allowsus to consider the complex and highlypersonal nature of learning. To betterunderstand interpretation, for eightmonths in 2008 I conducted a study ofvisitor engagement at the W.W.Seymour Botanical Conservatory inTacoma, Washington, USA (Ryken,2008) and visited botanic gardens inCanada, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States. What do visitors tell us?Studies of the attitudes of botanicgarden visitors indicate that they ratethe restorative features of the gardensetting as more important than learningabout plants or conservation issues(Ballantyne, et al., 2007; Connell,2004). Visitors to the Seymourconservatory identified three primaryreasons for visiting: to look at flowerdisplays, to be in a garden setting, andto be in a peaceful setting.Interestingly, reasons ranked amongstthe lowest were to learn about plantsand to learn about the environment.

While the majority of visitors valuedbeing immersed in a beautiful setting,their written reflections can be furtherorganised into four differentinterpretations of nature. Looking at therange of visitors’ interpretations inrelation to garden interpretationchallenges us to reflect on our views of

Right: Piece of

interpretation at

National Botanic

Garden,

Washington,

D.C.

encouraging

visitors to view

‘Nature as

a human

resource’

(Holly Senn)

Mode of Learning Absorption Socially construct meaningPassive ActiveIndividuals Groups

Learners Cognitive experience Cognitive, Physical

Learning Fixed Emotional ExperienceContext Dependent

Content Pre-interpreted Personalised meaningsmessages

Documenting Did visitors get the Did visitors makeLearning intended message? connections to life

Looking for knowledge experiences?of pre-determined Looking for change inoutcomes awareness, enjoyment,

attitudes, interest, opinion,or understanding

Transmission Model Contextual ModelBehavioral Paradigm Constructivist Paradigm

Washington, D.C. displays how plantsare used as food, medicine, ceremonialobjects, and building material. Themedicinal uses of plants are alsoemphasised at the Chelsea PhysicGarden. Human manipulation of plantsis made clearly visible at BrooklynBotanic Garden’s bonsai museum.

Plants were, and continue to be,central to the political and economicexpansion of nations and we shouldmake transparent which plants weretransported across the globe (e.g.,cinchona and rubber trees) and whichwere not (e.g., abortifacients)(Schiebinger, 2004). Presenting natureas a shared resource — there for thetaking to suit human needs andpurposes — is in tension with the viewthat nature is in peril.

Nature in peril

Another set of conservatory visitorssaw nature as threatened, focusing onthe importance of conserving naturalresources and balance in ecosystems.

“I believe that understanding our worldand nature’s powers over the weatherand the natural balance of theecosystem is more than important withthe threat of losing it due to our lack ofgratefulness for its beauty.”

knowledge (Arnold, 2006). Classifyingis not a neutral activity as allclassification schemes raise questionsabout the fundamental unit ofclassification (Ritvo, 1997). Thescientific view of nature is in tensionwith viewing nature as creation.

Nature as creation

More than 10% of conservatory visitorsfocused on nature as spiritual and asevidence of God’s creation.

“I do not really understand a lot aboutthe natural world, but I love thebeautiful plants and the fish. I think thathumans were meant to approach thebeauty of flowers, plants, and animalsand to live in harmony with thesethings and to love them. Thisconservatory, to me, reflects theboundless love of God and his love inHis creation. I glorify God for creatingthis beauty.”

“I saw plants I didn’t know existed andfound them fascinating — I mostappreciate and actually long for achance to be in a natural beautysetting. I find nature very spiritual.”

Describing nature as evidence ofcreation is not typically explicitlyaddressed in botanic gardeninterpretative displays; in all of mygarden visits I discovered only tworeferences to this perspective. Adisplay at the Chelsea Physic Gardenin London included the quote, ‘Godcreated and Linnaeus ordered’. Andan A-Z orchid display at the NationalBotanic Garden in Washington D.C.included the word ‘spiritual’ for theletter ‘s’ and described a Maori orchidcreation legend. Most gardens’displays emphasise evolution. Forexample, The Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew’s Evolution House presents avisual evolutionary timeline and theNational Botanic Garden inWashington, D.C. displays anevolutionary tree which showsphylogenic relationships.

Reverence for life is the commonground that can support reachingacross the religion and science divide(Wilson, 2006). For some visitorsbotanic gardens are the re-creation ofParadise and a physical bible thatmakes God’s purposeful design visible

(Cunningham, 1996; Prest, 1981).Visitor worldviews are unlikely tochange easily as they are the result ofcomplex interactions between religiousbelief, scientific knowledge, values,and common sense reasoning (Polingand Evans, 2004; Reading, 2005).

Nature as human resource

Other conservatory visitors describednature as a human resource, oftenemphasising their own use of plants orcritiquing the human manipulation ofplants.

“As a tea drinker, I thought about wherea beverage I enjoy begins its life. It wasvery interesting to learn about teavarieties and where they grow — to mesomething about the economy as well asthe natural world and how they impacteach other. Also brought in the culturalrole of the plant in the description ofdifferent ways of serving tea.”

“Plant modification and the fact thatyou must be breeding the flowers to beBIG. BIGGER is NOT better! Why areall the flowers so BIG? It’s not natural.”

Many gardens reinforce theinterpretation of plants as consumablesfor humans’ use. For example, theNational Botanic Garden in


Left: Plant

labels at

Volunteer Park

Conservatory,

Seattle,

Washington

encouraging

visitors to view

‘Nature as a

source of

scientific

knowledge’

(Holly Senn)

“I thought about how all plants in theconservatory are without questiondependent on clean air, water,moderate to humid temperatures andultimate harmony between all speciesfor all to survive and prosper. Thebalance between man and nature andat times how delicate it is. How plantsaffect not only man but the rest of theplanet and the ultimate balance andharmony between man and Earth.”

Botanic gardens are increasinglyemphasising the interpretation of naturein peril. The Toronto Botanical Garden’sfocus on urban gardening, SanFrancisco’s Conservatory of Flowersdisplay of Goldman Environmental Prizewinners, and displays about habitatdestruction or global climate change atthe New York Botanical Garden and theRoyal Botanic gardens, Kew, areexamples of this interpretation of nature.

From this perspective nature is viewedas compromised by human activity,such as habitat destruction andoverharvesting, leading to loss ofbiodiversity and extinction of species(Wilson, 2004). While often viewed as acurrent issue, concern for humanimpact on the environment has a longtradition; for example, it is documentedin classical Greek writings andsystematic forest conservation effortsbegan as early as 1768 on the island ofMauritius (Grove, 1996).

Questions to consider

Botanic gardens “invite discussion onthe role(s) of ‘culture’ in relation to‘nature’ and can act as a metaphor forthe complex relationships thathumanity has with the environment”(Sanders, 2007). They are importantsites for learning precisely because oftheir potential to help visitors considertheir multiple and conflictingrelationships to nature. As thecontextual model of learning suggests,visitors do indeed form highly personalmeanings in relation to the samesetting; simply providing information isa limited way to engage visitors. Beloware questions to consider as we workto foster learning in botanic gardens.

• What are the pros and cons ofproviding interpretative informationversus posing visitor reflectionquestions?

• How might we invite visitors toshare their thinking?

• What types of connections to naturedo we hope to foster?

• How might we make visiblehumans’ contradictory relationshipsto nature?

Engaging questions such as these canhelp us improve our work. Re-examining our views of learning andnature in relation to visitor worldviewssuggests that we think critically aboutboth the type and amount of learningwe expect from a garden visit and ourrole in supporting that learning.

References

�Arnold, K. (2006) Cabinets for theCurious: Looking Back at EarlyEnglish Museums. AshgatePublishing Limited, Aldershot,England.

�Balis, J-M. (1999) CreatingExhibitions for Learning, in Moffat,H., Woollard, V. (eds) Museum andGallery Education: A Manual ofGood Practice. AltaMira Press,Walnut Creek, California, USA.

�Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., Hughes,K. (2007) Environmental Awareness,Interests and Motives of BotanicGardens Visitors: Implications forinterpretive practice. TourismManagement, 29, 439-444.

�Connell, J. (2004) The Purest ofHuman Pleasures: Thecharacteristics and motivations ofgarden visitors in Great Britain.Tourism Management, 25, 229-247.

�Cunningham, A. (1996) The Cultureof Gardens, in Jardines N., Secord,J. A. Spary, E. C. (eds.) Cultures ofNatural History. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts, USA.

�Dewey, J. (1938) Experience andEducation. Collier Books, New York,USA.

�Diamond, J. (1999) PracticalEvaluation Guide: Tools forMuseums and Other InformalEducational Settings. AltaMiraPress, Walnut Creek, California,USA.

�Falk, J. H., Dierking, L. D. (2000)Learning from Museums: VisitorExperiences and the Making ofMeaning. AltaMira Press, WalnutCreek, California, USA.

�Forrest, T. A. (2008) How OneBotanical Garden is Engaging thePublic on Climate Change. PublicGarden, 23 (1), 13-15.

�Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of theOppressed. Herder and Herder,New York, USA.


Right: Quote

displayed at

Chelsea Physic

Garden, London

which

encourages

visitors to view

‘Nature as

creation’

(Holly Senn)

�Grove, R. H. (1996) GreenImperialism: Colonial Expansion,Tropical Island Edens, and theOrigins of Environmentalism, 1600-1860. Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

�Marstine, J. (2006) New MuseumTheory and Practice: AnIntroduction. Blackwell Publishing,Malden, Massachusetts, USA.

�Oakes, J., Lipton, M. (1999)Teaching to Change the World.McGraw-Hill College Boston,Massachusetts, USA.

�Poling, D. A., Evans, E.M. (2004)Religious Belief, Scientific Expertise,and Folk Ecology. Journal ofCognition and Culture, 4 (3), 485-524.

�Prest, J. (1981) The Garden of Eden:The Botanic Garden and the Re-creation of Paradise. Yale UniversityPress, New Haven, USA.

�Qwathekana, N. M., Midgley, G.(2008) The Heat is on for Africa:Botanic gardens, education andclimate change. Roots, 5 (1), 10-13.

�Reading, R. P. (2005) Is Knowledge-Provision Enough? The relationshipbetween values, attitudes andknowledge with respect to wildlifeconservation, Living Forests,1, 19-22.

�Rennie, L. J., Johnston, D. J. (2004)The Nature of Learning and itsImplications for Research onLearning from Museums. ScienceEducation, 88 (S1), S4-S16.

�Ritvo, H. (1997) The Platypus andthe Mermaid and Other Figments ofthe Classifying Imagination. HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts, USA.

�Romano, J. (2008) Leading the Wayto Sustainability. Public Garden, 23(1), 6-9.

�Ryken, A. E. (2008) W.W. SeymourBotanical Conservatory VisitorEngagement Study Summary ofFindings. (download atwww2.ups.edu/faculty/aryken/whitepaper.pdf)

�Sandell, R. (2007) Museums,Prejudice, and the Framing ofDifference. Routledge, New York,USA.

�Sanders, D. L. (2007) Making Publicthe Private Life of Plants: Thecontribution of informal learningenvironments. International Journalof Science Education, 29 (10), 1209-1228.

�Schiebinger, L. (2004) Plants andEmpire: Colonial Bioprospecting inthe Atlantic World. HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts, USA.

�Shakespear, G. (2008) Darwin’sGarden: An evolutionary adventure.Roots, 5 (2), 15-17.

�Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (1997)Understanding by Design.Association of Supervision andCurriculum Development,Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

�Wilson, E. O. (2006) The Creation.W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, NewYork, USA.

Résumé

La mise en place d’un systèmed’interprétation dans un jardinbotanique présente un défi. Notre butest non seulement d’étoffer lesinterprétations uniques du public, maiségalement de l’inciter à envisagercertains sujets plus en profondeur.Dans cet article, je compare deuxconceptions de l’apprentissage : lemodèle de la transmission et le modèlecontextuel. Afin d’illustrer le fait qu’unsimple apport d’informations limitenotre conception de l’enseignement etde l’apprentissage, j’examine quatremanières différentes de comprendre etd’interpréter la nature, rapportées pardes visiteurs, au W.W. SeymourBotanical Conservatory de Tacoma,Washington, aux Etats-Unis. Tropsouvent, nous nous attachons à ce quele public comprenne ou non unmessage interprétatif spécifique, plutôtqu’à sa manière de développer sespropres interprétations à partir de cescadres naturels. Afin de contribuer àce processus et de favoriser

l’apprentissage dans les jardinsbotaniques, je propose une série dequestions à étudier.

Resumen

Aportar actividades interpretativas en unjardín botánico es un reto. No soloporque le queremos aportar al visitantemateriales interpretativos únicos, sinoporque también esperamos que pienseny exploren por su cuenta. En esteartículo comparo dos formas deaprendizaje: el modelo de transmisión yel modelo contextual. Para demostrarque la simple transmisión deinformación limita nuestra forma deenseñar y aprender, presento cuatromaneras en las que los visitantesentienden e interpretan la naturaleza enel Conservatorio Botánico W.W.Seymour en Tacoma, Washington,Estados Unidos. Con frecuencia noscentramos en si los visitantes entiendeno no un determinado mensajeinterpretativo, en vez de centrarnos encómo los visitantes elaboran sus propiasinterpretaciones de estos espaciosnaturales. Para contribuir a esteproceso, y promover el aprendizaje enlos jardines botánicos, presento algunosaspectos a considerar.

Amy E. RykenAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Puget SoundChair, Education CommitteeW.W. Seymour BotanicalConservatory1500 N. Warner Street CMB 1051Tacoma WA 98416, USAEmail: [email protected]

To view vodcasts of field visits seewww.youtube.com/conservatory2


Interpretation for an unforgettable visit

Une interprétation pour une visite inoubliable

Paola Sierra Manrique

Interpretaciónpara una visita inolvidable

Resumen El Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis está ubicado

en Bogotá D.C. capital de Colombia, fue fundado por el sacerdote y

científico colombiano Enrique Pérez Arbeláez en 1955. Es el jardín

botánico más importante de Colombia y recibe más de 300.000

visitantes por año. Cuenta con planes, programas, proyectos y políticas

educativas estructuradas que responden a los intereses y necesidades

de distintos tipos de público. Esto representa una oferta de servicios

pedagógicos que ofrece a los visitantes experiencias de aprendizaje que

promueven la construcción de conocimiento, el desarrollo de actitudes y

de habilidades relacionadas con el cuidado y uso sostenible de las

plantas, su ecología y el ambiente. Este artículo describe los programas

de interpretación desarrollados en el Jardín, y destaca la teoría y los

principios que orientan innovadoras estrategias de aprendizaje activo

para una visita inolvidable.

Contexto

La educación que realizan los jardinesbotánicos, centros científicos y deciencia, planetarios, acuarios, reservasy parques naturales, zoológicos,museos de ciencia o historia natural,bioparques y todas aquellasinstituciones designadas explícitamentecomo museos es consideradaeducación informal. Se define comoaquella que procede de estímuloseducativos generados en nuestroambiente sociocultural y biofísico, noencuadrados en el sistema educativoformal (Sánchez, 2004, ICOM, 1997 &MEN, 2004. En Sierra, 2006). Engeneral estas instituciones cuentan conplanes, programas, proyectos ypolíticas educativas que responden alos intereses y necesidades de distintostipos de público. Lo anterior produce

una oferta de servicios que garantiza laaccesibilidad de todas las personas alJardín, de tal forma que se cumplan losprincipios de inclusión social quebuscan generar compromiso e impactoen el entorno social y cultural deBogotá D.C.

Comprender que los jardines botánicosdeben contar con programasenfocados a las necesidades eintereses de todas las personas, se haconvertido en un verdadero reto para

los educadores del Jardín BotánicoJosé Celestino Mutis quienes, a travésde la Subdirección Educativa yCultural, desarrollan procesos deeducación ambiental para promover laconstrucción de conocimientos,hábitos y actitudes en torno asituaciones ambientales asociadas alpatrimonio natural de la Ciudad, con elfin de conservar y hacer uso sosteniblede la biodiversidad. Estos procesos seorganizan en cuatro líneas de acción:1) Procesos de construcción depensamiento ambiental y desarrollo decompetencias científicas, 2) Procesospara la socialización del conocimiento,3) Procesos de inclusión en dinámicassociales y 4) Procesos de innovación einvestigación pedagógica para lagestión ambiental.

A continuación describo la Línea deAcción responsable de la atención devisitantes en el Jardín Botánico:Procesos de construcción depensamiento ambiental y desarrollo decompetencias científicas. Esta líneaofrece experiencias de aprendizaje quepromueven la construcción deconocimiento y el desarrollo deactitudes y habilidades relacionadascon el cuidado y uso sostenible de lasplantas, su ecología y el ambiente,para: a) Aportar elementos quepermitan emprender acciones derescate, restauración, y valoración delos bienes ambientales que constituyen

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 14-1714

Derecho: Los

programas

escolares

promueven

aprendizaje

natural y la

construcción y

el desarrollo de

habilidades y

actitudes para la

conservación de

la biodiversidad

(Paola Sierra

Manrique)

el patrimonio natural y b) Apoyar losprocesos de enseñanza - aprendizajede las ciencias naturales y sociales.

En el marco de esta línea fueronconcebidos programas deinterpretación ambiental enfocados enel desarrollo de competenciascientíficas: las competencias son losconocimientos, las actitudes y lashabilidades relacionadas con lasciencias que pueden ser construidospor las personas de tal forma quecuenten con herramientas que lespermitan intervenir de maneraresponsable en el cuidado delambiente y el desarrollo sustentable(MEN, 2005).

Estos programas fueron diseñados apartir de revisiones bibliográficas queincluyeron investigaciones, teorías deaprendizaje, conceptos, experienciaspedagógica, estudios de caso enáreas relacionadas con educación einterpretación ambiental, enseñanza yaprendizaje de las ciencias,experiencias educativas en museos,centros de ciencias, zoologógicos,jardines botánicos y ambientesnaturales; así como el aporte devisitantes.

Las estrategias de enseñanza /aprendizaje que hacen parte de losprogramas fueron diseñadas,desarrolladas y evaluadas, durante tresaños, por un equipo de profesionalescon formación y experiencia en cienciay pedagogía. En general los programasofrecen experiencias de aprendizaje através de 35 zonas ecológicas ycolecciones que exhiben cerca de2.300 especies de plantas (18.000individuos) en casi 20 hectáreas.

Características de losprogramas

a Principios de la teoría deaprendizaje constructivista.

b Experiencias directas y sensorialescon las colecciones botánicas,ambientes ecológicos y zonaseducativas.

c Contenidos específicos para cadaprograma.

d Ambientes activos de aprendizajeque promueven el pensamientocrítico.

e Alfabetización de las ciencias parael desarrollo sostenible.

f Desarrollo de competenciascientíficas y sociales.

g Comprensión del concepto deambiente a partir de las situacionesy problemas ambientalescontemporáneos.

h Acciones que propician laconciencia sobre los problemasrelacionados con el mantenimientode la diversidad biológica y eldesarrollo sostenible, así como lospropósitos culturales, deconservación y científicos de lascolecciones botánicas.

i Productos turísticos competitivoscon principios de sostenibilidad yprogramas dirigidos a la formacióndel equipo pedagógico,garantizando la calidad de losservicios.

j Flexibilidad en las actividadesdiseñadas, de acuerdo con lasnecesidades de los visitantes.

k Actividades bilingües.

l Promoción del Jardín Botánicocomo espacio ideal para el turismoecológico, científico y cultural.

Programas de atenciónespecializados

1) Interpretación Ambiental ParaColegios: Promueve el aprendizajenatural, la construcción deconocimiento en colaboración y eldesarrollo de habilidades y actitudesrelacionadas con las ciencias para laconservación de la biodiversidad.Apoya procesos de enseñanza yaprendizaje realizados desde elsistema educativo formal: preescolar,básica y secundaria. La ofertapedagógica se caracteriza poractividades atractivas y estimulantesdiseñadas a la luz de los EstándaresNacionales de Ciencias Naturales ySociales del Ministerio de EducaciónNacional (2005).

Izquierdo:

Los programas

tienen como

objetivo formar

líderes que

aporten a la

construcción de

estrategias que

permitan la

solución de

problemas

ambientales

locales

(Paola Sierra

Manrique)

• Colores y formas de lanaturaleza.

• La música del bosque.• Habitantes del planeta.

Caminatasguiadas

Juegos al airelibreManualidadesbotánicas

Promueven la observación utilizando loscinco sentidos. Utilizan las principaleszonas de interés para la primera infancia.Duración: 1 hora.Actividades al aire libre en diferentes zonasy colecciones. Duración: 2 horas.Promueven la creatividad de los niños. Serealizan en la zona de talleres: EspacioInfantil. Duración: 4 horas.

Actividad Descripción Contenidos

• Vida en el bosque.• Hábitat: un lugar para vivir.• Adaptación: formas maravillosas.• Evolución: plantas prehistóricas.• Plantas para la vida.• Descubriendo los secretos de las

plantas.• Ecosistemas: ambientes naturales.• Botánicos en acción.• Planeta Tierra: problemas

ambientales contemporáneos.• Ambiente y sociedad: diversidad.

Rutas dedescubrimiento

Ecotalleres

Articuladas a los EstándaresNacionales de Competenciasen Ciencias. Promuevenexperiencias de aprendizajecientífico. Duración: 2 horas.Articulados con los EstándaresNacionales de Competenciasen Ciencias. Promuevenexperiencias de aprendizajeque integran la ciencia y lasexpresiones artísticas.Duración: 4 horas.


Público preescolar: párvulos y transición

Público escolar: Primero a quinto grado


2) Interpretación Ambiental ParaUniversidades: Promueve laconstrucción de conocimiento y eldesarrollo de habilidades y actitudesrelacionadas con la ciencia, elambiente, la conservación de labiodiversidad y el desarrollo sosteniblede la sociedad. El Programa no sólosirve como apoyo a los procesos deeducación realizados desde el sistemade educación superior, sino queademás propone ampliar loscontenidos para incrementar el númerode visitantes universitarios y el área dedisciplinas que vistan el Jardín.

3) Interpretación Ambiental ParaTuristas: Genera elementos quepermiten la apropiación de la ofertaturística por parte de los visitantes, conel fin de que turistas nacionales,extranjeros y los mismos habitantes dela Ciudad, se conviertan también endemandantes de productos turísticoslocales y regionales. El Programaofrece productos turísticos sosteniblesque propician experiencias deaprendizaje, culturales y recreativas alas personas que concurren al Jardín,de tal forma que se logre suposicionamiento como espacio idealpara el turismo científico y culturalsostenible y se incremente el númeroanual de visitantes.

4) Interpretación Ambiental ParaPersonas en Situación deDiscapacidad: Busca romper lasbarreras de accesibilidad de tipo social,cultural y físicas que pueden estarpresentes en las instituciones queofrecen servicios y productos alpúblico, logrando aumentar el númerode personas en situación dediscapacidad física, sensorial ycognitiva que ingresan anualmente alJardín. El Programa se caracteriza porel diseño de actividades que tienen en

• Ciencia verde: investigación botánica.• Biodiversidad colombiana.• Plantas amenazadas: extinción• Suelo• Agua• Vida sostenible: principios del

desarrollo sostenible.• Evolución.• Conservación de la flora: el valor de

la biodiversidad.• Diversidad vegetal• Plantas para la vida: usos y abusos.• Planeta Tierra: problemas

ambientales contemporáneos.• Vida de planta.• Un lugar para vivir: ecosistemas.

Rutas dedescubrimiento

Talleres

Articuladas con los EstándaresNacionales de Competenciasen Ciencias. Promuevenexperiencias de aprendizajecientífico. Duración: 2 horas.Articulados con los EstándaresNacionales de Competenciasen Ciencias. Promuevenexperiencias de aprendizajeque integran la ciencia y lasexpresiones artísticas.Duración: 4 horas.


Público escolar: Sexto a once grado

• Relaciones ecológicas.• Interpretación de un mundo vivo.• Vida sostenible.• Expedición Botánica.• El Jardín, sus colecciones y su

responsabilidad en laconservación de la biodiversidadmundial.

• El Jardín Botánico comoescenario de aprendizaje.

Rutasespecializadas

Práctica - taller

Recorridos que promuevenexperiencias de aprendizajerelacionadas con el desarrollo decompetencias científicas, máscomplejas. Contenidosespecializados articulados con lasnecesidades y requerimientos decada programa y área académica.Duración: dos horas.Actividades que promuevencompetencias científicas. Searticulan con las necesidades yrequerimientos de cada programa yárea académica de educaciónsuperior: universitaria, técnica otecnológica. Duración: cuatro horas.


Público universitario: educación superior

• El Jardín y sus colecciones.• Las Plantas de Mutis• Plantas Primitivas• Mitos y Leyendas• Curiosidades Botánicas• Plantas Emblemáticas• Plantas Viajeras• Plantas Míticas• Plantas para la Vida• Plantas de Navidad• Animales que habitan el

Jardín

Plan-Guía

Plan-Explora

Plan-Temporada

Recorridos centrados en elconocimiento de las colecciones delJardín Botánico, su historia, su papel enla conservación de las plantas y elcuidado del ambiente a la luz de lasprincipales situaciones y problemasambientales contemporáneos. Duración:una hora y treinta min.Taller que ofrece experiencias deaprendizaje activas desarrollando temasde actualidad e interés para losvisitantes y/o el desarrollo deactividades que promueven solucionesparticulares a los problemasambientales. Duración: cuatro horas.Se coordinan actividades especialespara los visitantes. Cada dos meses setiene un tema de temporada distinto.Duración: dos horas. Especial paragrupos organizados.


Público turistas nacionales, extranjeros, familiar y comunidad organizada

Arriba:

Programas de

interpretación

ambiental

enfocan en el

desarrollo de

competencias

científicas

(Paola Sierra

Manrique)

cuenta el tipo de discapacidadpresentada y la inversión enadecuaciones de espacio y mobiliario(sillas de ruedas, senderos, rampas, porejemplo) que favorecen la movilidad depersonas en situación de discapacidady garantizan que el Jardín se unespacio inclusivo y de uso terapéutico.

De manera adicional a los programasde interpretación ambientalpresentados anteriormente, el Jardínrealiza innovadores programaseducativos dirigidos a niños, jóvenes,adultos y tercera edad: 1) VacacionesCientíficas Infantiles; 2) Club Botánicode Ciencias Infantil y Juvenil; 3) Clubde Caminantes y Amigos del Jardín;4) Agenda Cultural (cursos, foros,exposiciones, ferias, campañas,eventos para celebrar fechas deimportancia nacional, cultural yambiental, entre otras actividades dedivulgación científica); 5) FormaciónDocente en Gestión Ambiental;6) Asesoría y acompañamiento aProyectos Ambientales Escolares;7) Escuelas de jardinería y agriculturaurbana para adultos, 8) Asesoríastécnicas en investigación botánica,arborización, jardinería o agriculturaurbana y 9) Procesos de educaciónintercultural, que buscan recuperar elsaber tradicional de las comunidadesindígenas, afrodescendientes ycampesinas. Estos programas tienencomo objetivo formar líderes queaporten a la construcción deestrategias que permitan la solución deproblemas ambientales locales.

En conclusión, el Jardín Botánico JoséCelestino Mutis es considerado uno delos principales atractivos deimportancia científica, natural y culturalpara los colombianos. Lo anterior hasido producto de los grandesprogresos realizados en los últimos 15años, donde se han tenido en cuentalas necesidades de los visitantes y dela ciudadanía en general, logrando queel Jardín sea para todos

Referencias

�Sánchez, C (2004), ICOM (1997) &MEN (2005) En Sierra, P. (2006).La evaluación de los aprendizajesen jardines botánicos, una miradapreliminar. Revista Museolúdica(16-17) 48-55. Bogotá: UniversidadNacional de Colombia.

�Jardín Botánico José CelestinoMutis (2009) Formulación Proyecto317: Procesos de Educación yCultural para la Conservación y UsoSostenible de la Biodiversidad delDistrito Capital, SubdirecciónEducativa y Cultural.

�Jardín Botánico José Celestino Mutis(2008) Programas de Educación eInterpretación Ambiental,Subdirección Educativa y Cultural

�Ministerio de Educación Nacional deColombia (2005) EstándaresBásicos de Competencias enCiencias Naturales y Sociales. MEN.Bogotá D.C.

Summary

The José Celestino Mutis BotanicGarden was founded by the priest andColombian scientist Enrique PérezArbeláez in 1955. It is considered themost important botanic garden inColombia and receives more than300,000 visitors each year. Allprogrammes and projects offered bythe garden are structured specificallyto respond to the interests and needsof distinct audiences. Visitors aregiven learning experiences thatpromote the construction of knowledgeand the development of attitudes andbehaviours in relation to the care andsustainable use of plants, their ecologyand the environment. This articlepresents the interpretation programmesdeveloped in the José Celestino MutisBotanic Garden and emphasises thetheory and the principles that result ininnovative active learning strategies foran unforgettable visit.

Résumé

Le Jardin botanique José CelestinoMutis a été créé par le prêtre etscientifique colombien Enrique PérezArbelaez en 1955. Il est considérécomme le plus important jardinbotanique de Colombie et reçoit plus de300 000 visiteurs chaque année. Tousles programmes et les projets proposéspar le jardin sont structurésspécifiquement pour répondre auxintérêts et aux besoins de différentspublics. Les expériencesd’apprentissage proposées aux visiteurspermettent la construction de savoirs etle développement d’attitudes et decomportements favorables aux plantes,ainsi que liés à leur utilisation durable,leur écologie et l’environnement. Cetarticle traite des programmesd’interprétation développés au Jardinbotanique José Celestino Mutis, etprésente la théorie et les principes dontdécoule une stratégie d’apprentissageactive et novatrice garantissant unevisite inoubliable.

Paola Sierra ManriqueCoordinadora Programas deEducación e InterpretaciónAmbientalJardín Botánico José CelestinoMutisAv. Calle 63 #68-95. Bogotá D.C.Colombia, Sur América.Email: [email protected] [email protected]: www.jbb.gov.co

• Descubriendo el Jardín através de los sentidos.

• Ambientes naturales.

• Biodiversidad.

• Cuidado y manejo de lahuerta.

Caminatas opaseos

Rutas deobservación ydescubrimientoTalleres

Paseos o caminatas por las principaleszonas, colecciones o ambientes del Jardínque han sido previamente establecidos,según la discapacidad que presentan,acompañados de actividades específicas.Duración: Una hora.Experiencias activas basadas en eldesarrollo de desempeños en el Jardín,según discapacidad. Duración: 2 horasActividades que les permiten a losparticipantes producir productos o realizardesempeños específicos. Involucramateriales, insumos, elementos y espaciosespeciales. Duración: Tres horas.


Público: Personas de todas las edades en situación de discapacidad cognitiva,sensorial o física.

Izquierdo: Las

estrategias de

enseñanza que

hacen parte de

los programas

fueron

diseñadas,

desarrolladas y

evaluadas,

durante tres

años, por un

equipo de

profesionales

con formación y

experiencia en

ciencia y

pedagogía.

(Paola Sierra

Manrique)

In the summer of 2006, wheneducators at Brooklyn Botanic Gardenlearned that our young titan arum(Amorphophallus titanum) wasdeveloping a spectacular and very rarebloom, we knew that it would be an‘event’ on the New York City scene.How could we inform the thousands ofcurious visitors who would flock to thegarden about the fascinating biology ofthis 1.67 metre (5½ feet) blossom thatsmells like rotting flesh? Despite ourlarge staff of educators, we did nothave the capacity to redevelop dozensof pre-scheduled programs nor to builda major exhibit in two weeks’ time. Oursolution was to place one of ourdiscovery carts outside the room wherethe arum was displayed in ourconservatory. The cart was outfittedwith an interactive felt board illustratingthe arum’s flower structure, apollinator-blossom matching game, aselection of potted aroid relatives, and

trained interpreters to help children andadults appreciate the significance ofone of the world’s most unusual plants.

In the past two decades, discoverycarts - mobile interpretive educationstations - have become a commonfeature at botanic gardens, museums,zoos, and nature centres across theU.S. Their rise in popularity should notbe dismissed as a mere symptom ofthis country’s love affair with anythingon wheels. Rather, their adaptability,affordability and, yes, mobility makeinterpretive carts a winning solution tomeet a wide range of educationalgoals. Discovery carts enableeducators to interpret a special featureor event for their visitors by placing anengaging activity or attractive displayright on the spot. In a garden setting,where indoor spaces for the public maybe limited, carts can be an elegant yetinexpensive alternative to permanentlyinstalled exhibits. They are an easy wayto introduce interpretation at a newsite, forming a foundation from whichother education programmes can grow.The ease with which carts can be

changed to tell a new story is anotherreason they’re so well suited forbotanic gardens (for example, ‘What’sin bloom this week?’).

Since I’ve mentioned mobility severaltimes, I should make it clear thatdiscovery carts are not designed to bein motion during their use as interpretivestations. The wheels on a discovery cartmake it convenient to move outsideduring visiting hours and bring indoorsovernight, or to place near a specialdisplay and relocate once the seasonhas passed. Discovery carts are mosteffectively used with a live educator toconnect people passing by withinformation about plants, although theycan serve as a self-guided interpretivestation. Your visitors will appreciate thechance to handle and explore plants ata cart in ways you’d probably prohibitamong your permanent displays.

Before you start pounding nails to builda new fleet of carts for your garden, youneed to think through your specificgoals for each cart. Developing aprogramme plan is the first step to

Charriots découverte: une interprétation sur roulettes

Carritos de descubrimiento: Interpretación sobre ruedas

Marilyn Smith

Discovery carts:interpretation on wheels

Summary Discovery carts are mobile interpretation stations

commonly used at informal learning centres across the U.S. Carts are

relatively simple and inexpensive to develop. Once built, a cart may be

easily changed to interpret new themes - a useful trait for gardens where

the living plant collections are ever changing. A successful cart

programme begins by planning the intended message, audience, and

method of interpretation. The design and construction of a cart should

also be informed by practical considerations such as available space and

conditions where it will be used, ease of mobility, and adaptability to new

uses in the future.

18 Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 18-19

Right:

Discovery carts

can serve as

information

stations where a

knowledgeable

person answers

questions about

plants and

gardening

(Marilyn Smith,

Brooklyn

Botanic Garden,

USA)

successfully launching any neweducation programme; all the more so,if it’s going to require building a physicalstructure. What message or theme doyou wish to convey to visitors? Will thecart be used exclusively in a particularsection of your garden, or will it be freeranging on your grounds? Defining theaudience may be the most importantpart of this exercise. What ages do youhope to serve? When do they visit thegarden and what do they typically dowhile there? Does your target audiencevisit in small clusters of family andfriends, or large organised groups fromcamps, schools, or garden clubs?

Next, you’ll need to consider the typeof experience you’d like your audienceto have. Carts can serve as informationstations where a knowledgeableperson answers questions about plantsand gardening. They can be set upwith attractive, informative, yet staticdisplays. They can be activity centreswhere children or adults explore plantsusing their five senses or scientifictools. These functions are closely tiedto the physical construction of the cart,so it’s crucial to start with a cleareducational objective in mind, thenbuild the cart to support it.

Another key element to include in aprogramme plan for carts is how theywill be staffed. Who will create lessonsand materials, manage supplies andarrange for maintenance whennecessary? Who will interact with thevisitors when the carts are in use?Many gardens successfully usevolunteers as interpretive educators fortheir carts. This can be a tremendouslysatisfying assignment for volunteerswho enjoy interacting with people andwant to dive into a job where they’lllearn a lot of new information. Butsomeone on staff will need to train andschedule the volunteers and recruitnew ones when needed. At BrooklynBotanic Garden, highly trained teens inthe third year of our Garden ApprenticeProgram are the workforce behind ourdiscovery carts. Of course, theavailability of staff or volunteers willneed to align with the times your targetaudience is likely to visit.

Although flexibility is the hallmark ofdiscovery carts, there are a fewphysical features that most interpretivecarts have in common:

• one or more horizontal surfaces onwhich to display plants and objectsor to serve as work surfaces forhands-on activities (these should suitthe height of your audience).

• Secure, out of view storage forprogramme materials (often bundledin containers as topic modules).

• high quality wheels with brakes anda sturdy handle to push and steer.

• changeable signage to display yourgarden’s logo and the theme of thecart.

• for outdoor carts, a weatherprooffinish and a canopy or umbrella forshade or rain protection.

• an attractive design thatcomplements your garden’saesthetic and is engaging to visitors.

• construction from durable materialsthat are easily cleaned and withstandthe inevitable bumps and dingsagainst doorframes and signposts(avoid protruding parts that will catchor break off).

Whether built by on-site staff,volunteers, or professional exhibitdesigners, discovery carts are usuallycustom-made for the needs of theorganisation. Pitfalls to avoid arebuilding overly large carts that are tooheavy to move or too wide to fitthrough doorways, using materials thatcannot be repaired by in-housemaintainers, and designing storagespaces that are highly customised tovery specific supplies. One caveat tokeep in mind is that no matter how wellyou plan them, the carts you buildtoday will likely be used in ways younever imagined over the course of theirlifespan. So even after developing aprogramme plan, it’s wise to constructcarts with that unknown future in mind.

Résumé

Les charriots découvertes sont despostes d’interprétation mobiles quisont fréquemment utilisés dans leslieux de diffusion du savoir informelaux Etats-Unis. La création de cescharriots est relativement simple et peucoûteuse. Une fois construit, uncharriot peut facilement être modifié envue d’interpréter de nouveaux sujets,un aspect intéressant pour les jardins,dont les collections de plantes vivanteschangent constamment. Pour qu’unprogramme intégrant des charriots se

déroule avec succès, il faut toutd’abord déterminer le message àtransmettre, le type de public ciblé, etle mode d’interprétation. Il estégalement recommandé que le modèleet la structure du charriot soient baséssur des facteurs d’ordre pratique, telsque l’espace disponible et lesconditions dans lesquels il sera utilisé,la possibilité de déplacement, etl’adaptabilité à de nouvelles utilisationsfutures.

Resumen

Los carritos de descubrimiento sonmodalidades móviles de interpretacióncomúnmente utilizadas en centros deeducación informal a lo largo de losEstados Unidos. Desarrollar estoscarritos es relativamente sencillo y nomuy costoso. Una vez construido, elcarrito se puede fácilmente cambiarpara interpretar nuevos temas –característica de gran utilidad para losjardines botánicos cuyas coleccionesde plantas vivas están en constantecambio. Un programa exitoso empiezacon la planeación del mensaje atransmitir, la audiencia y el métodointerpretativo. El diseño y construccióndel carrito debe tomar en cuentaaspectos prácticos como el espaciodisponible, en qué condiciones seutilizará, facilidad de movimiento, yaadaptabilidad para nuevos usos en elfuturo.

Marilyn SmithDirector of Children’s EducationBrooklyn Botanic Garden1000 Washington AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11209 U.S.A.Email: [email protected]: www.bbg.org


Above:

Discovery carts

need to be

constructed

from durable

materials, have

wheels, brakes

and a handle to

push and steer,

horizontal

surfaces on

which to display

plants and out-

of-view storage

area for

programme

materials

(Marilyn Smith,

Brooklyn

Botanic Garden,

USA)

Striking a huge baobab tree, Hecaused the animals to walk into thelight of day for the first time. As eachone appeared through a great rent inthe tree’s roots, He named it andgave it a place to live. Even thoughHe was assisted by Mantis, who wasa super-being and the Creator’shelper, the animals took a long timeto come out of the tree and benamed. Last of all came man (Sancreation story, Greeves, 1988).

As a place, Africa is a highly diversecontinent: some 51 countries that arehome to 810 million people who speakover 800 languages (Norris, 2007).A place that is rich in the tradition ofstorytelling. At a regional level,Southern Africa for example has a richand unique plant flora comprising30,000 species of flowering plants thatmake up 10% of the world’s flora.

Along with this plant diversity is a richcultural diversity, with many people inthe region still relying on local plantsfor their subsistence and dailylivelihood needs (Van Wyk and Gericke,2000). The richness in plant diversity ofSouthern Africa makes for a potentiallyrich cultural landscape with indigenousknowledge systems that provide astoried landscape that can beunlocked during the process ofmeaningful interactive interpretation.However, O’Donoghue and Neluvhalani(2002), note the preference for‘indigenous knowing’ rather than thecommonly used concept of ‘indigenousknowledge’, the latter tending to treatknowledge as an ‘objectivecommodity’ that has been divorcedfrom ‘the socio-historical contexts ofhuman meaning-making interaction’.Just as poetry is meant to be heard,oral traditions captured as knowledge

within the written text, tend to losemuch of their oral testimony andinterpretive flavour and meaning.Nigerian poet, Niyi Osundare claimedthat ‘”to utter is to alter” – his followingpoem is worth reading aloud:

Grandma had a favourite sayingShe said it till she was old and greyShe said it tillShe breathed her last

“That land is never at peace”,She often stressed“Where a few have so muchAnd the rest have so little”

There is enough cornFor all the chickens of the worldIf only they peck with equal beaksAnd the fast tame their hasteFor the benefit of those left behind”

Niyi Osundare

Story is a powerful and provocativemedium that connects us intimately toour place in the world, and ultimatelyto our self identity. A story can bedefined as an account of either a realor fictitious sequence of events thatlink together by means of plot, which iswhat makes the story move frombeginning to end (Kock, 2003). Froman interpretation perspective, storiesserve to inform, enlighten andtransform our place-relation in the

Il était une fois… Les pouvoirs du conte

Había una vez… el poder del contar cuentos

Martin Clement

Once upon a time….the power of storytelling

Summary Educators in South African Botanic Gardens have a

rich storytelling tradition to draw upon, based on existing indigenous

knowledge systems. The links between biodiversity and cultural diversity

and the various ‘ways of knowing’ provide interpretation practitioners

with an opportunity to develop meaningful action-based programmes

that inspire visitors to regard issues relating to threatened species from a

more personal perspective. The aim is to encourage a deeper sense of

place and care for one’s local environment.

Storytelling is a powerful interpretive medium that deserves greater

attention within environmental communication and botanic gardens

education programmes. In this article we trace the development of ideas

from a number of assistant educators at the Durban Botanic Gardens who

explore the use of local narratives as a means to bring alive new meanings

which might also be incorporated into local interpretation practice.

20 Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 20-23

world. Story has the potential totransform the practice of interpretationin botanic gardens into a provocativeand meaningful experience. Storiesevoke a response in us. They inspireand develop a sense of curiosity abouttheir subject matter and the persontelling the story.

‘There is a wood, the canal, theriver, and above the river the railwayand the road. It’s the first propercountry that you get to as you comenorth out of Leeds, and going homeon the train I pass the place quiteoften. Only these days I look. I’vebeen passing the place for yearswithout looking because I didn’tknow it was a place; that anythinghad happened there to make it aplace that had something to do withme (English playwright, Alan Bennetfrom Untold Stories).’

I am curious as to why Alan Bennet tookall those years to realise the placesignificance of that bit of wood outsideLeeds in the UK and what the turningpoint was for him to consider itspossible place value. This process ofplace discovery has been linked toexperiences of play in nature as a child,an experience that helps to form long-lasting attachments to significant greenplaces and the potential for a greatersense of environmental care in later life.According to writer Steven Koch‘Childhood is, in every sense, the cradleof narrative’. Our knowledge of our

place in the world is story-bound. Story,according to Terry Tempest Williams ‘isan affirmation of our ties to one another.’For Beck and Cable (2002) ‘The storymust somehow relate to somethingwithin the personality or experience ofthe visitor…Furthermore, information,as such, is not interpretation. The storyoffers revelation based uponinformation…the purpose of theinterpretive story is to inspire, to provokepeople to broaden their horizons.’ Hencewithin a group one will encounter arange of stories or narratives that arerich learning resources for an interpretiveprogramme.

Interpretation and the value ofstory

‘To assemble an effective story requiresa great deal of research, thought,organisation, and care.’ (Beck & Cable,2002). Story also assists in developinga greater sense of ecologicalintelligence, helping us to develop agreater sense of environmental care.The place connection that story andstorytelling uncovers is perhaps bestcaptured within the concept of ‘innergeography’ as suggested by the lateIrish poet, Seán Dunne:

‘There is a second type ofgeography which is harder to define.Each place contains its own version.It is an inner geography which isformed over a long period. It is amap shaped by memory, culture and

experience. This geography variesfrom person to person and evolvesover generations. It includes songs,stories, jokes, poems, politics, worksof art, sporting events, local loyalties,parochial enthusiasm – the entireparaphernalia of a particular place.It is more than that vague thing, thespirit of place. It is a sense of lifelived in a particular area, and of theway that life is expressed.

Educators have often disregarded thevalue of place and story. ‘Theimportance of place in education haslong been overlooked for a variety ofreasons. One is that we miss theimmediate and the mundane’ (Orr, 2005).

A broken connection withlandscape and our history has beena compelling factor in the modernmindset in which detachmentseems to dominate over collectiveand meaningful interaction. JeremyRifkin notes that in oral culturesclosely tied to the land, mostlanguage is stored in the mind,wisdom is cherished above all else,and that by their very nature thesecultures are intimate and sensual.(Beck & Cable, 2002)

As one educator and guide at theDurban Botanic Garden questioned ‘Asan interpretator, when am I ‘storytelling’and when am I simply sharing


Above:

Storytelling has

the potential to

bring

interpretation

alive (Durban

Botanic Garden)

Left: The links

between

biodiversity and

cultural

diversity

provide

interpretation

practitioners

with an

opportunity to

develop action-

based

programmes

(Durban Botanic

Garden)

information in an interesting manner?’Stories can be seen as ‘hooks’ to recallimportant concepts, grab attention orto link differing ideas, concepts ofissues together into a meaningfulwhole. ‘Good storytelling can assist ingaining new insights and it certainlymakes the sharing of information bothmore enjoyable and memorable’ (Bubb,2009, pers com). Stories can be a greatteaching tool. According to FrankSmith, the human brain is a narrativedevice that thrives on stories. We storeknowledge in the form of stories whichare easier to recall than long lists offacts (Smith, 1988). For author GordonWells of The Meaning Makers, storiesprovide an overt means to generateshared understanding amongstlearners and educators.

‘In the field of co-intelligence, storiesare more than dramas people tell orread. Story, as a pattern, is apowerful way of organising andsharing individual experience andexploring and co-creating sharedrealites. It forms one of theunderlying structures of reality,comprehensible and responsive tothose who possess what we callnarrative intelligence. Our psychesand cultures are filled with narrativefields of influence, or story fields,which shape the awareness andbehavior of the individuals andcollectives associated with them.(Atlee, 2009)

Uncovering ‘nature’ throughstory

In story we uncover the landscape. Insharing stories we share ourselves andmeanings that we hold dear; meaningsthat are connected to our memories andsubjective interpretation of the worldaround us. The sociologist, RaymondWilliams, described ‘nature’ as perhapsthe most complex word in the Englishlanguage that is largely sociallyconstructed and tied up with our normsand values and histories; commodifiedand layered, within land that istransformed into landscape. The Welshpoet David Whyte claims that ‘Thoughwe profess to love nature, we like itpackaged according to our humandesires. We do not look too hard at theworld for fear of what we will find there’.A recent review of the United Nation’sDecade of Education for Sustainable

Development (UNDESD) highlighted theneed for creativity and critical thinkingwithin environmental and sustainabilityeducation practice (Lotz-Sisitka, 2006).The role of story provides an evocativebridge for both critical thinking andcreativity in a nature-culture dividedworld, one in which we might becomemore ecologically in tune. Ecologicalintelligence is not speech. It is an act.An act of weaving and unweaving ourreflections of ourselves on Earth…’(McCallum, 2005). We are currentlyfaced with the challenge of movingbeyond environmental awareness toaction. The use of story as aninterpretive aid helps to access thehead, heart and hands within educationprogrammes in botanic gardens. Agarden is full of meaning and narrativewith a history in its own right, withmultiple layered personal and collectiveperspectives. Stories help us uncoverthis and engage in the richness of plantcollections.

Storytelling: an improvementon silence?

‘There is not a culture in the world thatdoes not have myths, legends orfairytales explanations, no matter howfantastic, of the origins of the world anof life, of heroes and villains, of how weought to behave and how not to’(McCullum, 2005:23). The use ofstorytelling, while a powerful and

provocative medium for interpretation,needs to be handled sensitively withconsideration for the group involved inthe particular interpretation programme.Will the story be an improvement on theoverall interpretive experience, will itcapture attention? A good knowledgeof the group should help to determinewhich stories are appropriate and theideal manner in which they should becommunicated. On a recent workshopguided programme with a group ofguides from the Durban Botanic Gardenit was noted that evocative descriptionsof selected flagship indigenous species,one in particular being the Baobab tree,provided the possibility for sensoryexperiences that invited memories ofprevious encounters with the tree. Thisin turn led to stories that related to thecommon names of other indigenousplants. The following account is told byone of our guides, Thabo Zulu, aboutthe meaning of a local indigenous treeUmzimbeet (Milletia grandis), oftengrown as a popular garden subject:

Thabo: The first black South Africantelevision broadcaster who wasknown to give himself ‘big names’,also gave himself the nameUmzimbeet, which is also the namefor good quality sticks… but also agenuine strong person. There is noliteral meaning; [the tree] isassociated with strength andgenuineness.


Right:

Story is a

powerful and

provocative

medium that

connects us

intimately to our

place in the

world (Durban

Botanic Garden)

The above workshoping of storiedideas about plant names and how theycame to be is a rich resource fordeveloping more in-depth interpretivestories that can be worked intothematic interpretive programmeswhere appropriate. storytelling has thepotential to bring interpretation alive forthe visitor, to connect key biodiversityconservation issues to everyday lifeand assist in breaking down thenature-culture divide.

‘Stories that instruct, renew, andheal provide a vital nourishment tothe psyche that cannot be obtainedin any other way. Stories…provideall the vital instructions we need tolive a useful, necessary, andunbounded life – a life of meaning,a life worth remembering.’ (ClarissaPinkola Estes)

References

�Atlee, T (2009) The Co-IntelligenceInstitute, www.co-intelligence.org/I-powerofstory.html accessed 24March 2009

�Beck, L. & Cable, T. (2002)Interpretation for the 21st Century:Fifteen Guiding Principles ForInterpreting Nature and Culture.Sagamore: Illinois, USA

�Bennet, A. (2005) Untold Stories.Faber and Faber: London

�Clarissa Pinkola Estes (1993) TheGift of Story: A Wise Tale AboutWhat is Enough, Ballantine Books,USA

�Dunne, S. (Ed.) (1999) The IrelandAnthology. Gill & Macmillan, Ireland

�Greeves, N. (1988) When Hippo WasHairy And Other Tales From Africa.New Holland: Cape Town

�Kock, S. (2003) The Modern Writer’sWorkshop: a Guide to the Craft ofFiction. The Modern Library: NewYork

�Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2006) Participatingin the UN Decade of Education forSustainability: Voices in a southernAfrican consultation process.Southern African Journal ofEnvironmental Education. 23, 10-33

�McCallum, I (2005) EcologicalIntelligence Rediscovering Ourselvesin Nature, Africa Geographic, CapeTown

�Norris, S. (2007) Africa Our Home.Siren Conservation Education andTusk Trust

�O’Donoghue, R. & Neluvhalani(2002) Indigenous Knowledge andthe School Curriulum: A Review ofDeveloping Methods andMethodological Perspectives inEnvironmental Education, Ethics &Action in Southern Africa. Creda:Pretoria

�Orr, D.W. (2005) Place andPedagogy in Ecological LiteracyEducating Our Children for aSustainable World. Sierra Club: SanFrancisco

�Smith, F. (1988) UnderstandingReading. Hillsdale: New Jersey

�Van Wyk, B. & Gericke, N. (2000)People’s Plant’s: A Guide to UsefulPlants of Southen Africa. Briza:Pretoria

�Wells, G (1987) The MeaningMakers: Children Learning Languageand Using Language to Learn,Hodder Arnold H&S, New York, USA

�Whyte, D. (2001) Crossing theUnknown Sea Work As a Pilgrimageof Identity. Riverhead: New York

Thanks to the assistant educators ofthe Durban Botanic Gardens for theirinput and ideas on the use of story andstorytelling as an interpretive method.

Résumé

Les animateurs des jardins botaniquesd’Afrique du Sud peuvent recourir àune riche tradition du conte,s’appuyant sur des systèmes desavoirs autochtones existants. Lesrelations entre biodiversité et diversitéculturelle et les différents « modes desavoir » donnent aux professionnels del’interprétation l’occasion de mettre enplace des programmes d’actionmarquants, qui cherchent à encouragerle public à considérer les questionsliées aux espèces menacées d’un point

de vue plus personnel. L’objectif est destimuler un sens plus profondd’appartenance et d’attention vis-à-visde son environnement local.

Le conte est un puissant moyend’interprétation qui mérite d’être explorédavantage dans le domaine de lacommunication environnementale et lesprogrammes éducatifs des jardinsbotaniques. Dans cet article, noussuivons le déploiement d’idéesprovenant de plusieurs animateursadjoints du Jardin botanique de Durban,qui étudient l’utilisation de récits locauxpour raviver de nouveaux sens pouvantéventuellement aussi être intégrés dansles pratiques d’interprétations locales.

Resumen

Los educadores de los JardinesBotánicos Sudafricanos tienen unaimportante tradición de cuenta cuentoscentrada en los saberes indígenas.La relación entre la biodiversidad y ladiversidad cultural, y las diversas“formas de saberes” proporcionan unaoportunidad a los practicantes de lainterpretación para desarrollarprogramas activos llenos de significadoque inspiren a los visitantes acomprender aspectos relacionados conespecies amenazadas desde unapersectiva más personal. La meta espromover tanto un sentido depertenencia más profundo como unmayor cuidado por el ambiente local.

La actividad de cuenta cuentos es unmedio interpretativo muy poderoso quemerece una mayor atención en losprogramas de comunicación yeducación ambiental de los jardinesbotánicos. En este artículo presentamosel desarrollo de ideas de varios denuestros asistentes de educación delJardín Botánico de Durban quienesexploran el uso de narraciones localescomo un medio para darle vida a nuevossignificados que puedan incorporarse enla práctica interpretativa local

Martin ClementEducation OfficerDurban Botanic Garden70 St Thomas Rd,Durban, South AfricaWeb Site: www.durbanbotanicgardens.org.za/Email: [email protected]


The World Botanic Garden Exhibitionbegan its life in early 2008. Plans anddesigns were drawn up and wereassiduously developed, refined andimplemented by the Exhibition WorkingCommittee during the six months run-up to the Olympics. This also involvedinviting and coordinating botanicgardens to participate in the exhibitionand to supply text and photos abouttheir work. Competition wasunderstandably high and the exhibitionwas one of just 15 subprojectsincluded within the Beijing OlympicVillage Science and Technology Park.

The Beijing Municipal GovernmentGroup evaluated all subprojects at thebeginning of June. The World BotanicGarden Exhibition was one of only twosubprojects to pass the first projectevaluation. A final evaluation took

place at the end of June and theexhibition was very positivelyacknowledged. It was officially openedto the public on 1st August 2008.

The aim of the World Botanic GardenExhibition was to highlight the beautyand the value of plant biodiversity and

to showcase the excellent work ofbotanic gardens to visitors worldwide.The exhibition contained 70 individualpanels from 25 countries, each with adifferent story explaining the work ofbotanic gardens, institutions, andindividuals involved in plant

conservation and research. Otherelements of the exhibition included twoseed display cabinets, two leaf displaycabinets and an interactive plant scentstation where visitors could smelldifferent oils and perfumes derived fromfragrant plants. Interesting living plants(mainly medicinal plants) were also

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 24-2524

Exposition olympique : la valorisation du travail des jardins botaniques

Exibición Olímpica: promoviendo el trabajo de los jardines botánicos

Xiangying Wen

Olympic exhibition:promoting the work of botanic gardens

Summary Over 180 million people attended the Olympic Games

in Beijing last year. This international sporting event provided an

extraordinary opportunity for botanic gardens to showcase their work to

visitors from all over the world. The World Botanic Garden Exhibition

was entitled ‘Homes for Plants. Gardens for Humans’ and was displayed

at the Science and Technology Park, close to the Olympic Village, from 1

August to 8 November 2008. It was co-organised by Botanic Gardens

Conservation International (BGCI), Popular Science Network of Botanic

Gardens, Chinese Academy of

Sciences (CAS) and Beijing

Municipal Science and

Technology Committee. This

article describes the exhibition

and its development.

Right:

Leaf display

cabinet at World

Botanic Gardens

Exhibition

(Xiangying Wen,

BGCI)

positioned throughout the area and avery large (5.5m x 7.5m) LCD screen,playing videos, provided by variousgardens, was strategically placed todraw visitors in from a distance.

Close to the main exhibition area wasthe living plants display and exit area.This provided a welcome open greenspace where visitors could wander afterviewing the exhibit and enjoy the 30rare and interesting species of plants.An acknowledgement panel was placedat the exit listing the organisinginstitutions and participating parties.

The preparation and delivery of theWorld Botanic Garden Exhibitioninvolved over eight months of hardwork. Was it worth it? Although therewas no formal evaluation, we weredelighted by the response of the manyvisitors. The exhibition was open forjust nine weeks (to include the Olympicsand the Paralympics) but it provided aunique opportunity to engage withpeople about the critical work of botanicgardens in plant conservation.

Résumé

Plus de 180 millions de personnesétaient présentes aux Jeux olympiquesde Péquin l’année dernière. Cetévénement sportif international areprésenté pour les jardins botaniquesune opportunité extraordinaire demontrer leur travail aux visiteurs dumonde entier. L’exposition sur lesjardins botaniques, intitulée « Desmaisons pour les plantes. Des jardinspour les hommes », a été présentée au

Parc des sciences et des technologies,situé à proximité du village olympique,du 1er août au 8 septembre 2008.Elle était co-organisée par le BotanicGardens Conservation International(BGCI), le Jardin botanique del’Académie chinoise des sciences(ASC) et le Comité municipal dessciences et technologies de Pékin.Cet article décrit l’exposition et sesdéveloppements.

Resumen

Más de 180 millones de personasatendieron los Juegos Olímpicos enBeijing el año pasado. Este eventodeportivo internacional representó unaextraordinaria oportunidad para que losjardines botánicos mostraran su

trabajo a los visitantes de todas partesdel mundo. La exhibición del JardínBotánico se llamó ‘Casa para lasplantas. Jardines para el ser humano’y fue exhibida en el Parque de laCiencia y Tecnología, cerca de la villaOlimpica, desde el 1º. de Agosto al 8de septiembre del 2008. La exposiciónfue co-organizada por ConservaciónInternacional de Jardínes botánicos(BGCI), Jardines Botánicos de laAcademia China de Ciencias (CAS) yel Comité de Ciencia y Tecnología delmunicipio de Beijing. Este artículodescribe la exhibición y su desarrollo.

Xiangying WenChina Projects OfficerBGCISouth China Botanical Garden723 Xingke Rd. Tianhe DistrictGuangzhou, Guangdong 510650ChinaEmail: [email protected]

For more details about theexhibition please visit:http://www.bjkw.gov.cn/n1143/n1240/n1390/n1795/6236216.html


Left:

Thousands of

seeds on

display in the

exhibition area

showing the

amazing

diversity of

plant life

(Xiangying Wen,

BGCI)

Left: Map of

exhibition

location in

relation to the

Olympic

National

Stadium ‘Bird

Nest’ and

Acquatic Centre

‘Water Cube’.

(Xiangying Wen,

BGCI)

Left: The

exhibition

contained 70

individual

panels from 25

countries, each

with a different

story explaining

the work of

botanic

gardens.

(Xiangying Wen,

BGCI)

The University of Oxford BotanicGarden, located in the heart of Oxford,UK, houses a national referencecollection of 7,000 different types ofplants. Concerned about maximisingits contribution to the GSPC, thegarden initiated a 10 step approachwith its staff and trustees to promoteand embed the GSPC within its fiveyear plan. This approach has nowbeen refined and is presented belowfor other gardens interested inexamining how their institution cancontribute to the GSPC.

Ten steps to implementing theGSPC

1 Read the GSPC and identify thetargets. Although the 16 targets areburied inside the document, it is astrategy about plants that needs tobe implemented by botanicgardens. It is therefore essentialthat the GSPC is read in full.

2 After identifying the targets carry outan audit of what your garden isalready doing to achieve eachtarget.

3 Run a training session for your staffon the GSPC explaining what yourgarden is doing to achieve theGSPC. BGCI’s bookmarks outline all16 of the targets and are a valuableresource for this type of trainingsession.

4 Run a training session for yourtrustees/board of management onthe GSPC and ask your trustees tosign up your institution to theGSPC.

5 Include a report on what yourgarden is doing towards the GSPCwithin your annual report, include iton your website, write an article foryour friends newsletter or your localnewspaper.

6 Place the GSPC at the centre ofyour five-year plan and thus yourfundraising efforts, using the GSPCto raise money for your garden toimplement the 16 targets.

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 26-2826

Mise en œuvre de la SMCP en 10 étapes

Implementando la GSPC en 10 pasos

Louise Allen, Karoline Friedrich, Iris Kiefer, Wolfram Lobin,Cornelia Löhne, Marliese von den Driesch, Junko Oikawa

Implementing the GSPC

in 10 steps

Summary Most of us working in botanic gardens are aware of

the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Legally adopted in

2002 by all governments that are signatories of the Convention on

Biological Diversity, the GSPC provides us with a framework for actions

to bring about plant conservation, sustainable use, benefit-sharing and

capacity-building at global, regional, national and local levels with the

ultimate goal of halting the loss of plant diversity.

However, despite gardens knowing about this important strategy, many

are still questioning what they can actually do to contribute to its

implementation. This article looks at how the University of Oxford

Botanic Garden in the UK and the University of Bonn Botanic Gardens in

Germany have successfully overcome this dilemma and put into practice

programmes that implement and promote awareness of the GSPC and

celebrate each garden’s work towards achieving the GSPC’s 16 targets.

Target 3(Oxford Botanic Garden)

One of the plants we have beenactively conserving at Oxford forthe last decade is Euphorbiastygiana. Having successfullyintroduced this plant into cultivationit was just as important that wepublished how we did this so thatother botanic gardens could useour experiences as a model.

7 Use the GSPC as a basis for guidedtours for students and adult visitorsand a school programme forchildren. Examples of similarprogrammes at the University ofOxford Botanic Garden includeWhere in the World? and Living in aChanging World.

8 Arrange a series of seasonal festivaldays or weekends working with localplant conservation organisationscelebrating local plant conservation.

9 Create a trail for visitors using the16 GSPC targets for each of thestops. The information collectedwhen carrying out your audit ofwhat your garden is already doingwill be invaluable in creating sucha trail. The leaflet produced at theUniversity of Oxford Botanic Garden

is entitledSaving theWorld’s Flora.This was simplywritten and puttogether withrelated colorfulphotos. Thebooklet hasbeen distributedwidely and itcan also now be

downloaded from the Garden’swebsite (http://www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk/Events/obg-events-flora-guide.html).

10 Look beyond what you are currentlydoing, carry out an environmentalaudit of your organisation andidentify what else you could do toimplement the GSPC. Examplesinclude opting to only use FSC(Forestry Stewardship Council)timber, never using air travel if it ispossible to travel by rail, extendingyour site to include an in-situconservation project and hostingBGCI’s next International Congresson Education in Botanic Gardens.

Following the example of the Universityof Oxford Botanic Garden, theUniversity of Bonn Botanic Gardens,located in the centre of the city ofBonn, published a similar self-guidedtrail together with 16 interpretationpanels demonstrating and promotingthe practices of Bonn Botanic Gardensin relation to each target of the GSPC.

These educational materials werelaunched at the time of the 9thConference of the Parties (COP) to theConvention on Biological Diversity(CBD), which was held in Bonn in May2008. During the two week conference,the Gardens were one of the main localbiological institutes. They ran a rangeof activities and programmes, but theone outstanding effort was to offerlunchtime guided tours in severallanguages, themed on the GSPC.The tours were offered everyday toCBD delegates as well as to thegeneral public.


Target 8(Oxford Botanic Garden)

Botanic gardens already grow 30%of threatened plant species andthis Araucaria araucana is oneexample but we are keen toincrease the number of threatenedplant species that we grow withinthe Garden. One example of this isour work with the ConiferConservation Programme at theHarcourt Arboretum where theArboretum acts as a safe site forendangered conifers.

Target 7(Bonn Botanic Gardens)

The last remaining specimens ofWhitish hair-grass (Corynephoruscanescens) were collected in thenature conservation area,Tannenbuscher Düne andpropagated in the BotanicGardens. Working together with theBiostation Bonn (one of 40 natureconservancy institutions in North-Rhine-Westphalia), a speciesrecovery project has been carriedout. Eutrophic soil was removed,all weeds such as robinia weretaken out and Whitish hair-grasswas successfully introduced to thesite. Today, thousands ofspecimens of this plant species aregrowing there.

Staff in both Oxford and Bonn botanicgardens confirm that this practicalapproach is simple, easy and costeffective to implement. The approachhelps you to appreciate what thegarden is already doing in plantconservation, and identify where thegaps in conservation efforts are. Inessence what you need is enthusiasm

Left: Panel

illustrating the

work of Bonn

Botanic Garden

in Target 5 of

the GSPC

(protection of

50% of the

most important

areas for plant

diversity

assured) (Junko

Oikawa)

Far left:

Saving the

World’s Flora, a

self-guided trail

interpreting the

work of the

University of

Oxford Botanic

Garden in all 16

targets of the

GSPC.

(University of

Oxford Botanic

Garden)

and commitment from your team ofstaff and not to be afraid of theConvention on Biological Diversity!

Résumé

En tant que professionnels des jardinsbotaniques, la plupart d’entre nousavons connaissance de la StratégieMondiale pour la Conservation desPlantes (SMCP). Adoptée légalementen 2002 par tous les gouvernements

signataires de la Convention sur ladiversité biologique, la SMPC nousapporte un cadre d’actions pour mettreen avant la conservation du végétal,son utilisation durable, le partage desbénéfices et la capitalisation decompétences au niveau local, national,régional et mondial, avec pour objectifultime de stopper la perte de ladiversité végétale.

Cependant, bien que nous soyonsinformés de cette stratégie importante,de nombreux jardins se demandentencore comment ils peuventconcrètement la mettre en œuvre. Cetarticle expose la façon dont le Jardinbotanique de l’Université d’Oxford, auRoyaume-Uni, et le Jardin botaniquede l’Université de Bonn, en Allemagne,ont surmonté ce dilemme avec succès,et comment ils ont développé desprogrammes qui mettent en œuvre etexpliquent la SMPC au grand public,tout en valorisant le travail effectué parles jardins pour atteindre les 16objectifs.

Resumen

La mayoría de los que trabajamos enjardines botánicos estamos conscientesde la Estrategia Global para laConservación de las plantas (GSPC).Legalmente adoptada en 2002 portodos los gobiernos que han firmado laConvención sobre la DiversidadBiológica, la GSPC nos proporcionauna plataforma para realizar accionesdirigidas a la conservación de lasplantas, uso sostenible, repartición debeneficios y capacitación a nivel global,regional, nacional y local con el objetivode parar la pérdida de la diversidad deplantas.

Sin embargo a pesar de esta estrategiaimportante, muchos jardines aúntodavía cuestionan lo que ellos puedenhacer actualmente para contribuir a suimplementación. Este artículo buscailustrar como el Jardín Botánico de laUniversidad de Oxford en el ReinoUnido y los Jardines Botánicos de laUniversidad de Bonn en Alemania hanresuelto este dilema y han puesto enpráctica programas que implementan einterpretan la GSPC para el públicogeneral, así como también comocelebran cada trabajo del jardín que serealiza para alcanzar las 16 metas.

Junko OikawaBGCI Japan programmecoordinator (until Dec 2008) nowfreelance consultant onhorticulture, plant conservationand botanic gardensSürst 13Rhinbach D-53359GermanyEmail: [email protected]

Louise AllenCuratorUniversity of Oxford BotanicGardenRose LaneOxfordUKEmail: [email protected]: www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk

Karoline Friedrich, Iris Kiefer,Wolfram Lobin, Marliese von denDrieschUniversity of Bonn BotanicGardensMeckenheimer Allee 171BonnD-53115 GermanyWeb Site: www.botgart.uni-bonn.de

Cornelia LöhneBotanic Garden and BotanicalMuseum Berlin-DahlemKoenigin-Luise-Strasse 6-8Berlin D-14195GermanyWeb Site: http://www.bgbm.org/Email: [email protected]

The authors from the Bonn BotanicGardens would like to acknowledgeMarkus Radscheit for his help with theEnglish translation of the GSPCexamples.


Target 9(Bonn Botanic Gardens)

The University Botanic Gardenscultivates collections of economicplants of the Bonn region. We aimto conserve our locally growneconomic plant diversity and tomake the local community aware oftheir local treasure. We raiseawareness about these cultivarsand make seeds available. TheBotanic Gardens contributetowards the conservation of thelocal and traditional knowledge ofregional economic plants.

Below: Panel

illustrating the

work of Bonn

Botanic Garden

in Target 2 of

the GSPC (a

preliminary

assessment

of the

conservation

status of all

known plant

species, at

national,

regional and

international

levels)

(Junko Oikawa)

It is genuinely hard to think of a worldwithout the internet, so emeshed has itbecome in the very fabric of our dailylives, yet it is barely 20 years sinceCERN scientist Tim Berners-Lee wrotethe protocol for the World Wide Web.Even more remarkable, perhaps, is thespeed with which the Web hasdiversified and grown around the worldto reach its current pre-eminence asthe dominant vehicle of communicationin the 21st Century. For theoverwhelming majority oforganisations, participation in andexploitation of the Web’s astonishingpotential is no longer optional.

With the advent, in 2002, of so-calledWeb 2 models for information sharingand exchange, including Weblogs, RSSand social-networking sites, thecapacity for user-generated and editedwebsites was massively enhanced,leading to what some have called thegreater democratisation of the Web.

The challenge for us, as botanicgarden educators, is to find ways ofharnessing the Web’s immense power

to get our own messages out to thosewe want to influence and inform. Oneway is to develop new and excitinginitiatives ourselves. Another is to lookaround and see what’s already outthere in our global community, in termsof good and best practice. Thecorollary of this, of course, is that weshouldn’t be shy of telling ourcolleagues and the wider world aboutwhat we’re up to.

In our own back garden, as it were,BGCI’s use of the internet has radicallyre-ordered the way we work,transforming our capacity as anetworking organisation tocommunicate with our membershipand other interest groups. BGCI’sGardenSearch database is just oneexample, incorporating a webpage forall 2654 botanic gardens in the world,with links wherever possible to thegardens’ own websites.

Many other examples of good practiceexist, with botanic gardens worldwideusing websites to engage and interact

with their public through podcasts,blogs, image uploading (using Flickrand other file-sharing platforms), on-line education programmes and videoconferencing. So if you look upJanuary’s issue of E-updatewww.bgci.org/education/article/0558you’ll see some superb illustrations ofgardens using podcasting andblogging strategies to raise awarenessand expand their education message.

A fascinating new trend sees gardensexploiting the Web’s potential forindividualising relationships withvisitors by enabling them to customisegarden tours online. Having organisedthe tour to meet their ownrequirements, visitors are able todownload the relevant information totheir ipods or mp3 players beforevisiting the garden. Characteristicallythe concept is already being refinedand developed, with podcastersmaking their own alternative tours andproviding them online – seehttp://rodeworks.com//learn/make-your-own-podcast-museum-tour/

The virtual world of the Web remains arestless and dynamic organism, with aseemingly limitless capacity to innovatenew communications opportunities.As educators with a vested interest incommunicating it’s our responsibility tokeep abreast of the latestdevelopments, looking always to seehow we can exploit them to ouradvantage and all the while sharing ourexperience with others.

Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 29 29

wwwhat’s the webgot to do with us?

Disponibles

Books and EducationCurriculum

Conducting Meaningful Interpretation:A Field Guide for Success

This comprehensive book guides youthrough the theories, techniques andstrategies for effective interpretation,looking at the history of interpretationand examining the future of theprofession. It includes tips on rovinginterpretation, presenting to specialgroups, using audio visual equipment,traditional campfire programmes, andmuch more. Conducting MeaningfulInterpretation is internationally relevantand is an excellent resource for guidesand interpreters working in the naturalenvironment.

Carolyn Widner Ward and Alan E.Wilkinson, 2006, Fulcrum Publishing,ISBN 1555915302. www.fulcrum-books.com/

Communicating sustainability: howto produce effective publiccampaigns

This guide shows how the power ofcommunication can be harnessed forachieving the goal of promoting moresustainable lifestyles. Communicatingsustainability covers the myths and factsof communications and suggests usefulresources, as well as offering hints onhow to get the best out ofcommunications agencies. It is aimed at

Livres et programmes scolaires

Guide pratique pour uneinterprétation réussie

Cet ouvrage très détaillé vous guideraà travers les théories, techniques etstratégies pour une interprétationefficace, examinant l’histoire de lavulgarisation et l’avenir de laprofession. Il comprend des conseilssur l’interprétation itinérante, lesprésentations pour des groupesspéciaux, l’utilisation d’équipementaudio-visuel, les programmestraditionnels de soirées autour d’un feude camp, etc. Ce guide pratique estintéressant pour toutes les régions dumonde et sera un excellent outil pourles guides et animateurs nature.

Carolyn Widner Ward and Alan E.Wilkinson, 2006, Fulcrum Publishing,ISBN 1555915302. www.fulcrum-books.com/

Communiquer sur le développementdurable - Comment réaliser descampagnes publiques efficaces

Ce guide montre comment exploiter lesoutils de communication pourpromouvoir des styles de vie plusdurables. « Communiquer sur ledéveloppement durable » traite desmythes et de la réalité en matière decommunication et propose desressources utiles, ainsi que des

Libros y el plan de estudioseducativo

Llevando a cabo una valiosainterpretación significativa: una guíapara el éxito

Es un libro muy completo con teoría,técnicas y estrategias para unainterpretación efectiva, a través de lahistoria, la interpretación examina elfuturo de una profesión. Incluye pautasen la interpretación itinerante,moldeado a grupos especiales,usando equipo audiovisual,programas tradicionales de hoguerasy mucho más. El libro es muyelocuente en interpretación conrelevancia internacional y excelentepara ser usado por guías e interpretesque trabajan en un medio ambientenatural

Carolyn Widner Ward y Alan E.Wilkinson, 2006, Fulcrum Publishing,ISBN 1555915302. www.fulcrum-books.com/

Comunicando sustentabilidad: comorealizar campañas públicas efectivas

Esta guía da a entender el poder quetiene la comunicación para lograr unmejor estilo de vida sustentable.Comunicando sustentabilidad cubrelos temas de mitos y hechos de lacomunicación, sugiere recursos útilespara ello, asimismo ofrece pautas decómo lograr lo mejor de las agencias

Recursos

Resources

Resources Disponible Recursos

30 Roots• Vol 6 (1) • 30-35

local and national governmentalauthorities as well as organisations, suchas botanic gardens, that are interested indeveloping and implementing publicawareness campaigns on environmentand development issues.

Communicating Sustainability can bedownloaded from the UNEP website(www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?.id=DTI/0679/PA)For hard copies of the guide, contactSolange Montillaud-Joyel [email protected]

A Greek Odyssey: Greek languageand culture trail in the AdelaideBotanic Garden

The Greek community in Australiaconsists of around 400,000 people,about 2% of the total population.To reach out to this audience, theAdelaide Botanic Gardens has set up aGreek Odyssey trail which includes anaccompanying booklet to help Greeklanguage students practise Greek whilelearning about different aspects ofGreece’s history, culture andenvironment. The trail is also intendedto be used as part of a wider schoolproject that involves students writingand presenting their own version of aGreek Odyssey.


de publicidad. La guía es orientada alas autoridades gubernamentaleslocales y nacionales, asimismo a otrasorganizaciones como lo son JardinesBotánicos, o instituciones interesadasen desarrollar e implementar unamayor conciencia publica en cuanto acampañas para el medio ambiente ylos temas de desarrollo.

Communicating Sustainability se puedetrasvasar [descargar] del sitio Web dela UNEP (www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?.id=DTI/0679/PA).Para solicitar copias impresas, porfavor contacte a Solange Montillaud-Joyel - [email protected]

Una Odisea Griega: el idioma griegoy el sendero de cultura en el JardínBotánico de Adelaide

La comunidad griega en Australiaconsiste de aproximadamente 400000 gentes, que son un 2 % de lapoblación actual. Para llegar a estaaudiencia, el Jardín Botánico deAdelaide ha hecho el sendero Odiseagriega. Este consiste en un libro paraayudar a los estudiantes a practicar elidioma griego a través de diferentesaspectos de la historia de Grecia, sucultura y medio ambiente. Estetambién se usa en las escuelas comoparte de un proyecto mas grande paraque los estudiantes escriban ypresenten su propia versión de una‘Odisea griega’.

El libro tiene figuras tridimensionales,las cuales se forman al abrir laspaginas, los mapas son en forma depergaminos enrollados, como lo eranlos antiguos mapas. Estos últimospermiten que los estudiantes seorienten en el jardín como si ellosestuvieran viajando en Grecia, de estamanera los anima a localizar diferentesáreas importantes en el jardín quepreviamente han sido marcadas conetiquetas y títulos en griego. El librocontiene características, información yactividades recreativas para 14diferentes plantas, las que estánrepresentadas en los senderos deljardín, algunas de ellas son porejemplo: Tejo europeo (Taxus baccata),Laurel (Laurus nobilis) y albaca(Ocimum basilicum), entre otras.El sendero en el jardín y el libro sonuna base excelente para llevar a caboa su éxito de la Odisea Griega.

conseils pour utiliser au mieux lesagences de communication. Ils’adresse aux gouvernements, auxcollectivités locales, ainsi qu’auxorganisations comme les jardinsbotaniques qui voudraient mettre aupoint et lancer des campagnes desensibilisation du public sur des sujetsliés au développement et àl’environnement.

«Communiquer sur le développementdurable» peut être téléchargé sur lessites Internet du PNUE(www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?.id=DTI/0679/PA)Pour un exemplaire papier, contactezSolange Montillaud-Joyel :[email protected] Disponibleen français et en espagnol.

Une Odyssée Grecque: un sentierconsacré à la langue et à la culturegrecques au Jardin botaniqued’Adelaïde

La communauté grecque d’Australiecompte environ 400 000 personnes,soit 2% de la population totale. Pours’ouvrir à ce public, le Jardin botaniqued’Adelaïde a mis en place un sentier«Odyssée grecque» en prévoyant unlivret explicatif pour aider les étudiantsen grec à pratiquer cette langue et à

s’informer de différentsaspects de l’histoire, de laculture et del’environnement de laGrèce. Il est égalementprévu d’utiliser le parcoursdans le cadre d’un projetscolaire plus large où lesétudiants doivent écrire etprésenter leur propreversion d’une Odysséegrecque.

Dans le livret est inséréeune carte qui se présentecomme un rouleau ancien.Cette carte permet auxétudiant de se déplacerdans le jardin comme s’ilsvoyageaient dans la Grèceantique et les encourage àlocaliser différents lieux dujardin auxquels ont étéattribués des noms ou desétiquettes en grec. Ontrouve le long du parcoursquatorze plantesauxquelles le livret

The booklet includes a pull-out cartoonstyle map in the form of an ancientscroll. This map allows students tofind their way around the garden as ifthey were travelling through ancientGreece and encourages them to locatedifferent landmarks in the Garden thathave been given Greek names orlabels. Fourteen plants are featuredalong the trail and the booklet ispacked full of activities and informationabout each one (eg. Yew (Taxusbaccata), Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)and Basil (Ocimum basilicum). The trailand booklet offers an excellentfoundation for developing a Greek trail.

Loiza Karamanis, Steve Meredith, et al.,2008, The State of South Australia,Department of Education andChildren’s Services and the BotanicGardens of Adelaide. The booklets canbe downloaded from the websitewww.openaccess.edu.au (7mb).For a quality print edition and A2poster email Steve Meredith [email protected] will be a small charge to coverprinting and postage.

Ethnobotany Explorers

Ethnobotany Explorers is a newcurriculum unit designed to teach highschool students about ethnobotany,the study of how humans and plantsinteract. The importance and value ofbotany are presented through engaginglessons, classroom activities, and aDVD. Lessons also include basicscience concepts such as plantidentification and scientific methods.

The DVD serves as a window to theworld of ethnobotanical research andgives students a look at ethnobotany inaction. It features ethnobotanist teamsin Belize and the United States,including New York Botanical Gardenscientists, plant collectors, andgraduate students collecting plants, aswell as interviewing traditional healers.

Ethnobotany Explorers addressescentral science concepts such as plantanatomy, species diversity, andecology and can be combined withother subjects including geography,economics, social studies, and globalstudies. Initially designed for a high-school level audience, the programmehas been successfully implemented by

consacre toutes sortes d’activités etd’informations (par exemple l’if (Taxusbaccata), le laurier (Laurus nobilis) ou lebasilic (Ocimum basilicum). Leparcours et le livret constituent uneexcellente base de départ pourconcevoir un parcours grec.

Loiza Karamanis, Steve Meredith, et al.,2008, Etat d’Australie du sud,Département de l’Education et ServiceEnfance et le Jardin botaniqued’Adelaïde. Le livret peut êtretéléchargé sur le sitewww.openaccess.edu.au (7mb). Pourune édition papier de qualité et uneaffiche en format A2, s’adresser parcourriel à Steve Meredith :[email protected]. Unesomme modique sera demandée pourcouvrir les frais d’impression et d’envoi.

Explorateurs ethnobotaniques

«Explorateurs ethnobotaniques» est unnouvel élément des programmesscolaires destiné à enseigner auxélèves du secondaire l’ethnobotanique,à savoir l’étude des interactions entreles humains et les végétaux.L’importance et l’utilité de la botaniquesont mises en évidence par des cours,des activités en classe et un DVD. Lescours englobent également des notionsscientifiques fondamentales comme lareconnaissance des plantes et desméthodes scientifiques.

Le DVD est uneouverture sur le mondede la rechercheethnobotanique etpermet aux élèves devoir des ethnobotanistesen action. Il montre deséquipes à Belize et auxEtats-Unis, y comprisdes scientifiques duJardin botanique deNew-York, descollectionneurs deplantes et des étudiantsrécoltant des plantes etinterrogeant desguérisseurs traditionnels.

«Explorateursethnobotaniques» traitede sujets scientifiques debase tels que l’anatomiedes plantes, la diversitédes espèces et

Contacto: Loiza Karamanis, SteveMeredith et al., 2008, The State ofSouth Australia, Departamento deEducación y servicios para niños y elJardín Botánico de Adelaide. Loslibros pueden ser trasvasados[descargados]del sitio Webwww.openaccess.edu.au (7mb).Para una versión impresa y un cartel detamaño A2 (420 x 594 mm — 16.5 x23.4 in), favor de enviar un correoelectrónico a Steve Meredith,[email protected]. Sete cobrara un precio mínimo del costode la impresión y el correo postal.

Exploradores etnobotánicos

Es una nueva unidad en el sistemaeducativo que se imparte en lasescuelas preparatorias a losestudiantes de etnobotánica, rama queestudia de la interacción entre lahumanidad y las plantas medicinales.El valor e importancia de la botánica sepresenta a través de leccionesinteresantes, actividades en el salón declases y un DVD. En ellas se incluyenconceptos básicos como el métodocientífico y la identificación de plantas.

Los conceptos científicos centrales deExploradores botánicos son laanatomía vegetal, la diversidad yecología de las especies, aspectos quepueden también ser combinados con


middle-school science teachers in pilottests. The curriculum can also be usedin informal education settings such asafter-school science clubs, botanicgardens, and nature centres.

Ethnobotany Explorers, 2008, Glencoe,the science education division ofMcGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-891486-7. www.glencoe.com. Available only inthe USA.

The Environmental Food Crisis: TheEnvironment’s Role in AvertingFuture Food Crisies

A new report released by UnitedNations Environment Programme(UNEP) warns that up to 25% of theworld’s food production may becomelost due to environmental breakdownby 2050 unless action is taken. Thereport provides the first summary bythe UN of how climate change, waterstress, invasion pests and landdegradation may impact world foodsecurity, food prices and life on theplanet and how we may be able tofeed the world in a more sustainablemanner.

UNEP, 2009, ISBN 978-82-7701-054-0,paperback 104pp, $US25. EarthprintLimited, P O Box 119, Stevenage,Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, UK.www.earthprint.com

l’écologie, et peut être associé àd’autres disciplines dont la géographie,l’économie, les sciences sociales etl’étude des questions mondiales.Initialement prévu pour un public delycéens, le programme a été adaptéavec succès par des enseignants ducollège lors de tests pilotes. Il peutégalement être utilisé dans le cadred’activités périscolaires comme desclubs scientifiques, des jardinsbotaniques ou des centres nature.

Ethnobotany Explorers, 2008, Glencoe,Division d’éducation scientifique deMcGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-891486-7. www.glencoe.com. Disponibleuniquement aux Etats-unis.

La crise alimentaire etl’environnement: rôle del’environnement dans la préventionde futures crises alimentaires

Selon un nouveau rapport publié par leProgramme des Nations Unies pourl’Environnement (PNUE), près du quartde la production vivrière mondialerisque d’être perdu à cause de ladégradation de l’environnement d’ici2050 si rien n’est fait. Le rapportfournit le premier résumé de l’ONU surl’effet du réchauffement climatique, dumanque d’eau, des invasions denuisibles et de la dégradation sur lasécurité alimentaire dans le monde, le

otros temas como geografía,economía, estudios sociales yglobales.

La idea fue inicialmente desarrolladapara el nivel de la escuela preparatoria,debido al éxito del programa, éste fuemodificado para ser incluido comoprueba piloto con profesores de lasescuelas secundarias. El programaeducativo es muy adecuado y puedeser utilizado de manera informal enotros programas para clubes deciencia, jardines botánicos y centrosde estudios para la naturaleza

Ethnobotany Explorers, 2008, Glencoe,División de ciencias educativas deMcGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-891486-7. www.glencoe.com. Disponible sóloen los estados Unidos de América

La crisis medioambiental de losalimentos: reglas medioambientalespara evitar de una crisis futura dealimentos.

En un nuevo reporte dado por elprograma del medioambiente de lasNaciones Unidas se predice para elaño 2050, que de no ser tomadasmedidas adecuadas, hasta el 25 % dela producción mundial de alimentospuede perderse debido a un colapsoambiental. En este reporte se resumecomo el cambio climático, escasez deagua, invasión de plagas ydegradación de suelos pueden crearun impacto negativo en la producciónsegura de alimentos, costo de losmismos y vida en el planeta; tambiénse resumen alternativas de cómo sepuede promover la producción dealimentos en la tierra de una maneramás sustentable.

UNEP, 2009, ISBN 978-82-7701-054-0,edición rustica 104pp, $US20.Earthprint Limited, P O Box 119,Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, UK.www.earthprint.com

Sitios Web

http://cpd.conted.ox.ac.uk/env/Las bases de la predicción climática

Las bases de la predicción climática esun CD-ROM que trata laspreocupaciones futuras delmedioambiente. Por medio del uso deactividades interactivas, los niños


Websites

http://cpd.conted.ox.ac.uk/env/The Basics of Climate Prediction

The Basics of Climate Prediction is anew CD-Rom looking at theimportance of climate prediction andthe worrying outlook for the future.Using interactive activities, children canset the parameters of the predictionsand watch them unfold. The CD-Romfinishes with some climate predictionsfor the future. They paint a pretty direpicture if we continue with the highlevels of fossil-fuel emissions but showthat if we are able to make changesthen the level of change will be muchlower. A well laid out simple teachingresource. The CD-Rom can be directlydownloaded from the website or youcan order a free hard copy.

http://www.eol.org/Encyclopaedia Of Life

The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is anambitious project to organise andmake available via the Internet virtuallyall information about life present onearth - from animals and plants tobacteria and viruses. Each specieshas its own page with photos,distribution maps and a wealth ofinformation including the conservationstatus and threats to its survival. Theencyclopaedia is a work in progress soyou will find information lacking for lesscommon species but this could beyour chance as the site is looking forcontributors. The site is alsodeveloping an interactive tree of lifethat will highlight the evolutionary linksbetween species.

http://www.neweconomics.org/genNew Economics Foundation (nef)

Nef is an independent organisationcarrying out research and advocacy todemonstrate and inspire economicwell-being. Its aim is to improve thequality of life by promoting innovativesolutions that challenge mainstreamthinking on economic, environmentaland social issues. Nef has a centre forwell-being and has included a greatdeal of information about this on itswebsite which is worth exploring. Forexample, it sites five evidence-basedways to well-being – connect, beactive, take notice, keep learning and

prix des denrées et la vie sur terre, etsur les moyens de nourrir le monded’une manière plus durable.

UNEP, 2009, ISBN 978-82-7701-054-0,livre de poche 104pp, $US20.Earthprint Limited, P O Box 119,Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, UK.www.earthprint.com

Sites Internet

http://cpd.conted.ox.ac.uk/env/Les fondements de la prévisionclimatique

«Les fondements de la prévisionclimatique» est un nouveau CD-Romqui montre l’importance des prévisionsclimatiques et les inquiétantesperspectives qui se profilent pourl’avenir. A travers des activitésinteractives, les enfants peuvent fixerles paramètres des prévisions et enobserver l’application. Le CD-Romprésente en conclusion quelquesprévisions climatiques. Ellesdépeignent un bien triste tableau pourle cas où les fortes émissions liées auxcombustibles fossiles se poursuivraient,mais montrent que si nous arrivons àmodifier nos comportements, lechangement sera nettement moindre.Un outil d’enseignement simple et bienconçu. Le CD-Rom peut êtredirectement téléchargé depuis le site oucommandé gratuitement.

http://www.eol.org/Encyclopédie de la vie

“L’Encyclopédie de la vie” est unambitieux projet visant à organiser et àcommuniquer sur Internet quasimenttoutes les informations sur la vieprésente sur terre – des animaux etdes végétaux aux bactéries et auxvirus. Chaque espèce a sa page avecdes photos, des cartes de répartitiongéographique et une mine derenseignements, notamment sur sonétat de conservation et son degré derégression. L’encyclopédie est encours de réalisation: elle ne contientpas d’informations sur certaines desespèces les moins courantes, ce quidonne à chacun l’occasion d’apporterdes contributions. Un arbre de vieinteractif qui montrera les liens entreles espèces dans l’évolution estégalement en cours d’élaboration.

establecen parámetros de laspredicciones y las extienden[extrapolan] en su desarrollo. El CD-ROM finaliza con algunas prediccionesclimáticas. Los niños pueden dibujaruna imagen alarmante sí nosotrosdecidimos continuar con los altosniveles de producción de emisiones apartir del consumo de hidrocarburosfósiles, pero se les muestra, que sínosotros decidimos hacer cambios,entonces los niveles pueden serreducidos. Este es un diseño simplepara mostrar y dar a entender el tema.El CD-ROM puede trasvasarse[descargarse] directamente del sitioWeb que se anota a continuación,alternativamente, puedes obtener unacopia impresa gratis, sí la solicitas a:

http://www.eol.org/Enciclopedia de la Vida

La enciclopedia de la vida (EOL) es unproyecto colosal en el que se organizay se pone a disposición en la Internettoda la información acerca de la vidaen el planeta – abarca animales,plantas, bacterias y virus. Cadaespecie tiene una sección propia conuna imagen, mapa de distribución einformación bastante completa en laque se incluyen estados deconservación y amenazas para lasobrevivencia de las mismas.La enciclopedia es un trabajo aún endesarrollo, entonces existen huecospara especies menos comunes; esto,a la vez, abre la oportunidad acontribuyentes potenciales paracompletar poco a poco laenciclopedia. Al momento, seencuentra en desarrollo un árbol de lavida, en el cual se tendrán disponibleslos posibles lazos evolutivos entre lasespecies.

http://www.neweconomics.org/genNueva fundación de economía (nef)

Nef es una organización independienteque lleva a cabo investigación paramostrar e inspirar el desarrollo endefensa del bienestar económicohumano. Su meta es mejorar la calidadde vida por medio de soluciones quepueden afrontar las corrientesdominantes de hoy en día en aspectoseconómicos sociológicos yambientales.


give. It also includes ‘The HappyPlanet Index: An index of human wellbeing and environmental impact’ whichcan be downloaded. This reportexamines what it means to be happy,taking into account ecologicalefficiency. It also highlights theimportance of social networks andcommunity as a major contributor toindividual well-being, which botanicgardens could use to justify their workin education and community outreach.

http://www.wordle.net/Wordle

Wordle is a terrific toy for generating‘word clouds’ from text that youprovide. The clouds give greaterprominence to words that appear morefrequently in the source text. You cantweak your ‘clouds’ with different fonts,layouts, and color schemes and theimages created can be used for avariety of activities, includingpowerpoints presentations.

http://www.evergreen.ca/en/index.htmlEvergreen

Evergreen is a not-for-profitorganisation that aims to make citiesmore livable by deepening theconnections between people andnature, and empowering Canadians totake a hands-on approach to theirurban environments. The websitecontains a host of resources offeringplenty of ideas for learning outside theclassroom. You can also join theEvergreen discussion forum where youcan post questions, comments anddocuments.

http://www.neweconomics.org/genNouveaux fondements de l’économie(nef)

Nef est une organisation indépendantequi effectue des travaux de recherche etde sensibilisation pour promouvoir etinspirer le bien-être économique. Sonobjectif est d’améliorer la qualité de lavie en proposant des solutionsinnovantes qui battent en brèche lesidées courantes sur des questionsd’économie, d’environnement et desociété. Nef a un centre consacré aubien-être, et présente de nombreusesinformations à ce sujet sur son site quimérite d’être exploré. Il cite par exemplecinq manières éprouvées de parvenir aubien—être : s’associer, être actif,observer, continuer à apprendre etdonner. Il comprend aussi l’ « IndexPlanète Heureuse : index du bien-êtrehumain et de l’impact environnemental »qui peut être téléchargé: ce rapportsouligne l’importance des réseauxsociaux et de la communauté pour lebien-être individuel, aspect que lesjardins botaniques pourraient mettre àprofit pour justifier leur travail éducatif etsocial.


Wordle est un jeu incroyable pourproduire des « nuages de mots-clés »à partir d’un texte que vous fournissez.Les «nuages» mettent en relief les motsqui apparaissent le plus fréquemmentdans le texte source. Vous pouvezmodifier les «nuages» avec différentespolices, mises en page et couleurs. Lesimages produites peuvent être utiliséespour différentes activités dont desprésentations PowerPoint.

http://www.evergreen.ca/en/index.htmlEvergreen

Evergreen est une association nonlucrative qui a pour objet de rendre lesvilles plus vivables en renforçant lesliens entre la population et la nature, etd’encourager les Canadiens às’approprier le milieu urbain. Le sitecontient toute une série de ressourcesqui donnent de nombreuses idées pourapprendre en dehors des salles declasse. Vous pouvez aussi vous inscriresur le forum de discussion où vouspourrez afficher questions, remarqueset documents.

Nef tiene un centro de desarrollo unnodo de información muy amplio en laInternet que vale la pena consultar ynavegar. Por ejemplo, se dan 5alternativas de consulta: evidencia enhechos para el bienestar – conexiones-ser activo, continúe notando[observando], manténgase aprendiendoy dando [evidence-based ways to well-being - connect, be active, take notice,keep learning and give]. Tambiénincluye, el Índice para un planeta feliz:índice para el bienestar humano y elimpacto medioambiental. [ ‘The HappyPlanet Index: An index of human wellbeing and environmental impact’]. Losmateriales se pueden trasvasar[descargar] fácilmente. La informaciónanaliza el aspecto ‘el ser feliz’ a travésde la eficiencia ecológica. Se hacehincapié en la importancia de las redessociales y las comunidades como losmayores contribuyentes al bienestar devida individual, todo esto puede serusado en educación tanto en losjardines botánicos como en los cursosa larga distancia.


Es un juego fantástico para formar‘nubes de palabras’ a partir de un textoque tú propones. Las nubles danmayor importancia, o hacen resaltar laspalabras que aparecen masfrecuentemente en el texto original.De esa manera, tú puedes retorcer(pellizcar) tus nubes con diferentesfuentes, diseños, diagramas o colorespara ser usadas en varias actividades,como por ejemplo, en presentacionesde PowerPoint.

http://www.evergreen.ca/en/index.htmlSiempreverde

Siempreverde es una organización nolucrativa que tiene como meta hacerque las ciudades sean mas habitablesconsiderando la interacción gente ynaturaleza, y que con esta, loscanadienses sean proactivos con sumedio ambiente urbano. El sitio Webconsiste en recursos que ofrecennumerosas ideas para aprender paraactividades a llevar a cabo fuera de unsalón de clases. Tú puedes unirte alforo de discusión de Siempreverde, enel cual puedes poner, tus preguntas,comentarios y documentos relevantesa estos asuntos.


Plant Conservation Day - May 18

Join in with botanic gardens and zoos worldwideto celebrate Plant Conservation Day.Last year over 40 institutions ran an event,this year there will be even more.

Visit www.plantconservationday.org for a freeonline toolkit where you can download all theresources — background, promotional materials,and education activities — you need for asuccessful Plant Conservation Day at your site.

If you have a Plant Conservation Day celebrationstory or resources you would like to share,please send a short summary, links and/or photosto us at [email protected].

Monthly News Updates

Receive news updates once a month direct to your inbox from BGCI and botanicgardens around the world. Every issue includes news and links to educationresources, profiles of plant-based educators and programmes and ideas andfeedback from readers. Log onto: www.bgci.org/education/2209

…..and sign up now!

You can also read past issues of E-update on our website atwww.bgci.org/education/archive/


Established in 1987,BGCI links more than 500botanic gardens andconservation organizationsin 115 countries, workingtogether to savePLANTS FOR THE PLANET.

BGCI’s INSTITUTION members receive numerous benefits:• Opportunities for involvement in joint conservation and education projects• Tools and opportunities to influence global conservation policy and action• Botanic Garden Management Resource Pack (upon joining)*• Regular publications:

- Cuttings – newsletter on botanic gardens and plant conservation (2 per year)- BGjournal – an international journal for botanic gardens (2 per year)- Roots - Environmental Education Review (2 per year)- A wide range of publications and special reports

• Invitations to BGCI congresses and discounts on registration fees• BGCI technical support and advisory services

• Regular publications:- Cuttings – newsletter on botanic gardens and plant conservation (2 per year)- BGjournal - an international journal for botanic gardens (2 per year)- Roots - Environmental Education Review (2 per year)

• Invitations to BGCI congresses and discounts on registration fees

J Conservation donor (BGjournal, Roots and Cuttings reports and more) 250 400 350K Associate member (Cuttings and BGjournal) 40 65 50L Associate member (Cuttings and Roots) 40 65 50M Friend (Cuttings) available through online subscription only (www.bgci.org) 10 15 15

Institution Membership £ Stlg US $ € Euros

Individual Membership £ Stlg US $ € Euros

How to join Botanic Gardens Conservation Internationaland help us to save plants from extinction

INDIVIDUAL members and donorssupport BGCI’s global network forplant conservation, and areconnected to it through ourpublications and events.Membership categories include:

Corporate Membership is available; please contact BGCI at [email protected] for further details.

*Contents of the Botanic Garden Management Resource Pack include: Darwin Technical Manual for Botanic Gardens, A Handbook for Botanic Gardenson the Reintroduction of Plants to the Wild, BGjournal - an international journal for botanic gardens (2 past issues), Roots - Environmental EducationReview (2 past issues), The International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation, Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, Environmental Educationin Botanic Gardens, additional recent BGCI reports and manuals. BG-Recorder (a computer software package for plant records) available on request.

A BGCI Patron Institution 5000 8000 7500B Institution member (budget more than US$2,250,000) 750 1200 1000C Institution member (budget US$ 1,500,000 - 2,250,000) 500 800 650D Institution member (budget US$ 750,000 - 1,500,000) 350 550 450E Institution member (budget US$ 100,000 - 750,000) 185 300 250F Institution member (budget below US$100,000)* 85 130 115

*Generally applies to institutions in less developed countries

Payment may be made online at www.bgci.org/worldwide/members/, or by cheque (payable to Botanic Gardens Conservation International) orVISA/MasterCard sent to BGCI, Descanso House, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW, U.K or Fax: +44 (0) 20 8332 5956.

� I wish to apply for BGCI’s INSTITUTION / INDIVIDUAL membership (circle one).

Institution Name (if applicable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Membership category (A-M) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annual rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VISA/Mastercard number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Credit card expiry date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Security code/CSV number (last 3 digits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Print name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

� I would like to make a donation to BGCI. Amount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Please clearly state your name (or the name of your institution) on all documentation. Please contact [email protected] for further information.Individuals in the U.S. can make tax-deductible contributions online at www.justgive.org or by contacting [email protected] is a registered charity and company, limited by guarantee, in England and Wales, and in the U.S. as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Botanic GardensConservation International

Descanso House, 199 Kew Road,Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW, U.K.

Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5956E-mail: [email protected]: www.bgci.org

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