Botanic Park care during and after major events

Date posted: 06 March 2019

Botanic Park is one of Adelaide’s premier outdoor venues. Majestic trees and expansive lawns make this a natural, unique space that contributes to the magic and memories of a festival, concert or cinema experience.

Utilising Botanic Park - which is part of Adelaide Botanic Garden - for events allows a diverse community to enjoy the curated, scientific collection of living trees in a new and exciting way.

But have you ever wondered what is done to protect and conserve the plants and trees that call this place home?

Throughout the year, a management plan guides a program used to maintain the health and resilience of Botanic Park and its living botanical collection.

Expert horticultural staff look after the lawns by irrigating, fertilising and top dressing to keep them in top condition all year long, and especially before events. Tree inspections and maintenance takes place and root protections zones are implemented.

After the events, the dedicated team care for Botanic Park by aerating and de-compacting the soil. There may also be some turf replacement and seeding depending on the time of year and size of the event.

Botanic Park is a heritage, cultural and environmental gem, so it’s important that the best horticultural practices are implemented in the lead-up to major events like WOMADelaide. Before the event opens, the Park will be in great condition but it will quickly be affected by the number of stages and structures the event requires, as well as the huge crowds this event draws.

While everything possible is done to maintain Botanic Park, the weather can still affect the space. This summer of 2018-19 was particularly harsh, with the hottest and driest January on record. Adelaide also experienced a very dry winter. These weather events prevented the lawns from being quite so resilient, but it is still a shady green location for world-class performances.

So sit back and enjoy the show, and know that the trees, lawns and plants are in safe and caring hands when the gates close.

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