COMMUNITY CONSULTATION IN DESIGNING CHILDREN'S GARDENS-AN EXAMPLE FROM AUSTRALIA

Authors:	J.P. Rayner, A.C. Laidlaw
Keywords:	botanic gardens, urban landscapes, children's gardens, community consultation, planning, design
Abstract: Planning children's gardens in public landscapes requires consultation that interacts and engages children to ensure that they are active participants in the design process. Despite the increasing numbers of such gardens, there are few examples of consultation activities and outcomes and little evidence of children’s involvement in decision making. This paper describes consultation used in planning and design of the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne in Australia, particularly participatory activities involving children. This involved a range of consultation activities for over three years, the most important being a collaborative partnership with primary school children. It measures the effectiveness of the children's involvement against a 'ladder of young people's participation in projects' (Hart, 1992) and looks at opportunities for improving consultation in the future.
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