Press Releases

01 January 2006

Volunteer Master Gardeners – sharing a passion for plants

The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is calling for people to volunteer in the Australian Garden when it opens in May 2006.

This new garden is unique in Australia. The Australian Garden will be a 22 hectare garden with a fresh new plant design enabling visitors to marvel at the diversity of Australia’s plants and landscapes.  The first eleven hectares of this garden, which will open on Sunday 28 May 2006, will display 100,000 plants.

The Australian Garden is being developed within the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.

One of the main aims of the Australian Garden, aside from being a place of beauty and pleasure, is to educate visitors about Australian flora and its contribution to landscape, art, and culture.

Luke Saffigna, Visitor Programs Officer, is looking for 30 volunteers to help in the Volunteer Master Gardener Program, which is being developed to change the way visitors perceive and use Australian plants.

Mr Saffigna is planning to recruit knowledgeable home gardeners or retired horticulturists who have a real passion for sharing their love and experience of Australian plants with others to the program.

Known as the Volunteer Master Gardeners, these volunteers will undertake an extensive training program aimed at giving practical advice and inspiring visitors to the Australian Garden. This program will focus on familiarising volunteers with the Australian Garden project and the horticultural techniques that will be demonstrated to visitors.

Once the Australian Garden is open, training will focus on maintaining the knowledge base of volunteers and providing opportunities for visitors to discover, first-hand, more about the amazing Australian plants from the Volunteer Master Gardeners.

 “Our aim in creating a Volunteer Master Gardener Program is to create opportunities for visitors of all ages to interact in an informal way with knowledgeable, passionate and RBG Cranbourne-trained home gardeners,” said Mr Saffigna. 

Volunteering is open to anyone from the age of 16 to 85. The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is eager to recruit people from different cultural backgrounds.

Public inquiries: Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne on 03 5990 2200.

Media inquiries: Eleanor Bridger on (03) 9252 2387.