The Brisbane City Council has created a vision to embrace the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in Mt Coot-tha as an iconic green landmark for the whole city. In order to do so, a few upgrades and new developments must take place. The council has released a Draft Master Plan for the gardens over the next 15 years as part of Our Shared Vision Mt Coot-tha 2030.
The Master Plan reveals key opportunities and the future directions for the gardens such as:
- Development of living collection
- Development of sister city relationships
- Visitor engagement
- Improvement of facilities & accessibility within the gardens
- Upgrades to infrastructure
- Showcasing & protection of the gardens
Early concept design for the Master Plan has begun last year and the draft master plan was released March of this year. The final master plan will be released this month or early next year.
Five key themes are included in the draft that are all essential to the vision of the council for the Gardens:
- A Brisbane icon
- A sustainable retreat & refuge
- A learning environment
- A place for recreation
- A place that is connected and accessible
The themes support protection, advanced and accessibility of the seeds, plans and collections at the gardens that will benefit the community.
Site-Wide Ideas
- Wayfinding – interpretative signages, intuitive mapping, seating and artwork are being considered for each precinct to encourage visitors to explore the gardens in a more confident way.
- Living Collection Policy – a policy may be developed for the continuous improvement of each collection individually and the Gardens as a whole.
- Activation & Programming – more careful programming of events and activities that will help achieve the vision of the Gardens.
- Accessibility upgrades/additions
- Interpretation
- Transportation Upgrades
Entry Precinct
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- Visitor Information Centre
- Potential Education Hub and BCC Library
- Entry Plaza
- Redesign of Car Park
- New Nursery Area & Small Propagating Facility
Related Article: Mt Coot-tha’s Visitor Information Centre Opens
Lakeside Precinct
- Upgrades to the Tropical Display Dome
- Cactus House
- Transformation of the area surrounding Bamboo Grove into a traditional Chinese Garden
- Plant Families Display Redesign
Central Precinct
- Improvements to the Bonsai House
- Treetop walk & Pop Up Cafe at the existing lookout
- Transformation of the bandstand area into a children’s garden
Retreat Precinct
- Improvements to the Eucalypt and Acacia Forest
- Addition of a Native Orchid House
- Construction of boardwalk around the Australian Plant Communities and lake
For the Mt Coot-tha precinct, the council has recently gave the go-signal to the construction of the zipline as well as a treetop adventure.
With these plans, Mt Coot-tha will be attracting more tourists in the coming years.
