Mount Alexander Shire Council has developed two new plans to help guide the future protection and management of the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.
The council’s coordinator of parks and gardens, Stewart Campbell, said the two new plans would help ensure the future protection of the significant local attraction into the future.
“The Castlemaine Botanical Gardens is one of the shire’s most-loved and important public spaces, and is one of Victoria’s oldest regional botanical gardens,” Mr Campbell said.
“Protecting and managing this space will ensure that the gardens can be enjoyed by the community well into the future.”
The plans aim to ensure the long-term future of the gardens as a site of botanical, ecological and historical significance, and to broaden the current role of the gardens to include an educational and scientific function, as well as a place for recreation.
The first plan, titled the Living Collections Plan, focuses on initiatives such as establishing appropriate plant collections within the gardens including planning for climate change and its impacts on flora in the gardens.
The second plan is titled Tree Succession Plan and focuses on initiatives including regular tree surveys and preparing specific maintenance guidelines for significant trees as well as developing a best-practice approach to tree maintenance.
The development of these plans was made possible through the state government’s Growing Victoria’s Botanic Gardens round one 2019 program.
Local garden lovers can find out more about the two plans by visiting the Plans and Strategies section of Mount Alexander Shire Council’s website.
