Botanical Garden: COME IN!
Botanical Garden: COME IN! VSTUPTE! KOM IN! WEJDŹ! GYERE BE!
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The international project “Botanical Garden: COME IN! VSTUPTE! COM IN! COME IN! GYERE BE!” funded under the Erasmus + program is aimed at the general public, with a special focus on people with disabilities. The partner organizations are the A. Mickiewicz Botanical Garden in Poznan, the Botanical Garden in Prague, the Gothenburg Botanical Garden and the Hungarian Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. The main objective of the cooperation is to develop methods of making botanical gardens accessible to visitors with special needs.
Five international meetings are scheduled over the three years of the project.
Planned results of the project:
- “Methodology for working with visitors with special needs in botanical gardens” (available online).
- Exhibition of all senses “Never alone – secrets of symbiosis” organized at the Botanical Garden in Prague, 12.10 – 04.11.2019 – indicating how to learn about nature using all senses
- international conference “Botanical garden: A green world for everyone! Educational activities for visitors with special needs in green spaces,” to be held in Poznan, June 09-11, 2019.”
First meeting
The first introductory meeting was held in Prague. Among other things, participants learned about the information system for the blind used at the Botanical Garden in Prague, and received training in methods for working with people with disabilities.
Second meeting
On August 22-24, Gӧteborg hosted the second international meeting of the project “Botanical Garden: COME IN! VSTUPTE! COM IN! COME IN! GYERE BE!” The project partners presented the situation of people with disabilities in their countries, and discussed the methodology and organization of the conference. A slogan was also chosen under which the “Exhibition for all the senses” will be organized. It will be on display at the Botanical Garden in Prague in October 2018.
Third meeting
The third international meeting, organized by the Hungarian Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, was held in Budapest from April 23 to 28, 2018. During the meeting, we worked on preparing an exhibition of all the senses and an international conference. We also had the opportunity to visit the National Botanical Garden in Vácrátót, the Fuveszkert-Budapest Zoological and Botanical Garden, and the Botanical Garden of Lorand Eötvös University.
Fourth meeting
From October 12 to November 5, the exhibition of all the senses “You are not alone – Secrets of symbiosis” was on display at the Prague Botanical Garden. The exhibition was organized within the framework of the project and was aimed particularly at visually impaired and blind people. Visitors could not only watch, but also touch, smell and even taste some of the exhibits. In addition, an audio guide in Czech and English was available, where, in addition to information, the sounds of nature were also recorded. Most of the exhibits were arranged on specially adapted tables, with descriptions in traditional print and Braille attached to the edges. The opening of the exhibition was combined with the fourth international meeting of the project team. Photos from the opening and the final preparations for it are presented below.
Conference
On June 09-12, 2019, the international conference “Botanical garden: A green world for everyone! Educational activities for visitors with special needs in green spaces”. It was attended by 130 people from 22 countries. The conference was an event summarizing the project, as well as disseminating its results. All participants received the study prepared as part of our cooperation “Botanical Garden: Come in! Visitors with special needs in botanical gardens. Methodology. They also had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of all senses “Never alone – Secret of Symbiosis” organized at the UAM Botanical Garden from 10-30.06.2019.
During the conference, in addition to paper and poster sessions, workshops were held – practical examples of working with people with disabilities.
The field session includes a visit to the Spatial Orientation Park in Owińskach, which has been adapted for blind children, as well as a trip to the Wielkopolska National Park and the National Museum of Agriculture and Agro-Food Industry in Szreniawa.
Fifth meeting
The fifth and final meeting was combined with an inter-organizational conference organized within the framework of the project. It was held on 13.06.2019 at the UAM Botanical Garden.
After a discussion summarizing the project, we went together to the Gate of Poznań, where, in addition to visiting an interesting exhibition, we were able to learn about solutions for adapting the facility for people with disabilities.
The result of three years of cooperation