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Geelong Botanic Gardens and Werribee Open Range Zoo have collaborated in the sharing of plants and horticultural expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The collaboration grew after the City of Greater Geelong offered surplus plants from the gardens’ South African collection to the zoo, which happily rehomed species including yuccas, aloes, euphorbias, senecios, cassinias and agaves as part of a revegetation project.

Geelong Botanic Gardens has more than 150 South African plants in the designated 21st Century Garden, which showcases drought tolerant species that are suited to our climate.

Werribee Open Range Zoo has shared valuable information about its planting program and suggested ways to develop engaging educational elements in a vast outdoor environment. This advice will be put into action in special plant showcases in the Geelong Botanic Gardens over the coming months.

Teams from both sites plan to come together for horticultural projects later this year.

Geelong Parks, Gardens and City Services portfolio Chair, Anthony Aitken enthuses “I love the Geelong Botanic Gardens and I love the Werribee Zoo. To develop a project that brings these two together has been a fantastic opportunity.

“Local partnerships like this one, that are mutually beneficial for the development of knowledge and resources, are hugely important as we continue to look for new ways to work together for a clever and creative future.

“While we have shared plant material from the Geelong Botanic Gardens collection, Werribee Open Range Zoo has imparted valuable knowledge and advice that will help shape educational programs at the gardens.

“Our community has been challenged during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, however, new relationships have also formed from a need to support one another. We look forward to working with the zoo for years to come.”

Werribee Open Range Zoo Horticulture and Grounds Manager, Craig Shalders adds “the Horticulture team at Werribee Open Range Zoo looks forward to continuing to work with Geelong Botanic Gardens by sharing our care for plants and conservation.

“We thank Geelong Botanic Gardens for providing plants that will create diversity and add to the botanical interest across our site.

“We welcome the support of GBG and look forward to building on this relationship with further gardens in the future.”

Geelong Botanic Gardens is open to the public from 8am-5pm every day.

Werribee Open Range Zoo is currently closed under the Victorian Government’s stage 3 restrictions across metropolitan Melbourne to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Image: City of Greater Geelong horticulturalist Tim Hardy, Geelong Botanic Gardens supervisor Ash Filipovski and Cr Anthony Aitken

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