Botanic Gardens Day

Dear Trees Listening Experience
10am to 1pm

“Dear Tree" is a listening experience - a collection of recordings of local people talking from the heart to their favourite tree, acknowledging and contemplating the position of nature within our lives.

Visitors to the "Dear Tree" experience will lie under canopy of trees in the Garden, listening to this soundtrack on a wireless headphone. Supported by the earth beneath them and seeing only sky and branches above, listeners are momentarily transported away in a mesmerising, relentless celebration of nature.

"Dear Tree" is an accessible, fun experience suitable for all ages. The audio experience will include diverse voices from our community, who will contribute their personal thoughts and reflections about trees and nature and provide a thoughtful, positive experience for visitors.

Booking not required for this free drop-in activity. Meet the artist, Rose Turtle Erther under the trees on the Turpentine Lawn.

Behind the Scenes Nursery Tour
10am & 11am

Delve into the rarely seen heart of the Botanic Garden on a guided tour of our Nursery. Find out how and why we propagate the plants used for the Garden’s collections, Council's Community Greening program, for local Bushcare and for our monthly plant sales. On this behind the scenes tour you’ll see our collections of threatened plants and find out what we are doing to help save these wonderful endangered species through projects and partnerships. This is a fascinating tour not to be missed.

Please wear enclosed shoes for this fascinating walk around the Nursery!

Bookings not required. Meet us at the Towri Centre.

Tiny Forest - BIG Ideas Talk
10am & 12pm

From small things big things grow!

The Garden is home to one of three Tiny Forests across the city. It’s not the trees that are tiny, it’s the area they occupy. These small multi-layered forests create around 30 times more green surface area compared to grass alone and help provide more shade, cool the air, absorb harmful carbon emissions, help restore local biodiversity and attract wildlife. We’ll explore our Tiny Forest to show you how these forests work and develop at such a speedy rate.

Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat for this ‘tiny’ walk with BIG ideas!

Bookings not required. Meet us at our Tiny Forest (near our Education Centre)

Rare Plants Walk n’ Talk
12pm

We’ll be leading a tour of our rare and endangered plants. You’ll learn about number of regionally rare and Australian endangered plants, and the story behind their scarcity. Many plants in our gardens are becoming rarer in the wild. We are collecting and propagating several endangered species to support scientific research and conservation to help safeguard wild plant populations. Jump into this tour and our behind-the-scenes nursery tour to learn all about our conservation projects.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat for this walk n’ talk.

Bookings not required. Meet us at the Towri Centre.

Puckeys Conservation Walk
10am to 11.30am

Puckeys Estate Nature Reserve is an annex of the Botanic Garden. It is a rare coastal habitat that includes rainforest, dunes and marshland, and home to around 130 different types of birds and several endangered plant communities. This interpretive walk will highlight the work that Council and Bushcare volunteers undertake to protect and restore these endangered plant communities. On this fascinating walk you'll learn about its diverse native species and the threats faced by weeds. The walk will also include a visit to the historic Seafields House located within the reserve.

Pre-bookings via Eventbrite are required. Meeting details will be listed on your ticket.

Garden Discovery Buggy and Walking Tours
10am, 11am, 12pm (Buggy)
1pm & 2pm (Walking)

Join a guided buggy or walking tour with our knowledgeable guides to discover the beauty, plant diversity and history of Wollongong Botanic Garden!

No bookings are required for these interesting tours led by our wonderful volunteer guides. Meet us near the Duck Pond

Native Plant Sale
10am to 1pm

Make your garden greener by picking up some gems from our Native Plant Sale on Botanic Gardens Day.

On the Towri Centre deck, you'll find a collection of ground covers, grasses, trees and shrubs that are native to the Wollongong area as well as other Australian natives. Our expert horticulturalists will also be around to help with advice about plant selection for your garden.

Did you know we also open our Garden Nursery on the third Friday of each month (except December), plus a few Saturdays throughout the year? At these sales we offer a larger range of native plants plus a few exotic plants grown by our amazing volunteers. For more details visit our Greenplan Plant Sale webpage.

Botanic Art and Photography Exhibition
10am to 1pm

There will be an amazing Botanic Art and Garden Photography Exhibition in the Towri Centre.

The Garden's Botanic Art Group have developed an impressive collection of art depicting local, rare and endangered plants.

A range of stunning botanic artworks, prints, cards and photographs are also available for sale. Artworks showcase a range of our local native plants, including rare and endangered species, making them a beautiful and unique gift or memento. All proceeds from sales go towards future Garden projects.

The Discover Wollongong Botanic Garden book was produced by the Friends of Wollongong Botanic Garden to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Garden. With wonderful photographs throughout, it showcases the development of the Garden from its beginnings in 1971 to the present. You'll also be able to purchase this stunning book at this exhibition.

Tiny Forest T-shirt Painting
10am to 1pm

Bring your own plain t-shirt and learn some leaf printing techniques to create your own Tiny Forest merchandise.

If you don’t have a spare t-shirt, bring some fabric or print direct onto paper to see your nature design come to life. This activity is suitable for all ages.

When complete, you can wear your tiny forest loud and proud when you are out and about.

Booking not required for this free drop-in activity. Meet us near our Education Centre.

The main hub of activity will be around the Towri Centre, with self-guided trails and tours taking you for a trip around the Garden!

• Public Transport: The best way to arrive is via public transport with the free shuttle bus stopping at Northfields Ave and connecting to North Wollongong train station.
• Driving: A limited number of car spaces are available at our car parks off Madoline Street or Murphys Avenue, or street parking is also available.
• Cycling: we have a number of bike racks at Garden entrances.

Download our Garden map PDF, 76 KB and find full details (including access and mobility) on getting here.

More than 100 botanic gardens, arboreta and gardens across Australia and New Zealand participate in this national event to highlight the significant work undertaken at botanic gardens to ensure plants survive into the future.

For more information visit BGANZ (Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand Ltd.)