The project Botanical Garden: COME IN! VSTUPTE! ANGE! WPISAĆ! BELÉP! is based on the development, passing on and setting up innovative practices in the field of making botanic gardens more accessible to the general public with emphasis on visitors with special needs. The project continues and develops an already functioning system of activities which make Prague botanic garden more accessible to persons with special needs. Foundations of this system were laid in 1996.Based on the positive responses to these activities, we decided to introduce joint initiative to promote cooperation, mutual learning and exchange of experience at a European level and to offer cooperation to other European botanic gardens. The offer of cooperation has been accepted by three entities: Gothenburg Botanical Garden (Sweden), The Adam Mickiewicz University Botanical Garden (Poland) and Magyar Arborétumok és Botanikus kertek Szövetsége (Hungary). Together we have formed a project involving inclusive methods in the field of education, creation of intellectual outputs and innovative ideas in making botanic gardens accessible to visitors with special needs and their intense dissemination and use in educational activities for the general public, including visitors with special needs.The target group of our project is general public with the emphasis on the visitors with special needs.The shared formation of the intellectual outputs, their impact, the education activities and - the most importantly - the spreading of the results of the project - this all represents a very important step for an improvement of the life quality of the persons with special needs in the international context.The concrete main project results are as follows:1. The methodology of accessing the BG to the visitors with special needs. 2. The Exhibition for all senses will be exhibited in the partner organizations and will use the method of perception of nature and around world with all senses. 3. The international conference "Botanic Garden as an open institution - teaching activities aimed on visitors with special needs (methodology, experience, inspiration)".As a part of the project we plan to accomplish 6 transnational project meetings where all the partners will take part. We plan also to include two transnational learning, teaching, training activities (LTTA) in our project. Without the LTTA, there is no guarantee in understanding the problematics in the required context and the comparison of the level of knowledge and the practical skills necessary for the formation of the intellectual outputs. The impact of the project on participants, participating organization, target group and other relevant steakholders is very important. Educational activities initially focused on visitors with special needs (exhibition for all senses) are a practical demonstration of inclusive education. In the end they also make offered services and educational events for the general public significantly more attractive. By these activities we will not only participate on the integration of minorities into society and promotion of social role of BG but we will also support the interest of general public in botany, horticulture and protection of environment. The sharing and development of our experience by the foreign partners, who declared the determination to improve the offer of services for visitors with special needs in the broad sense, are the main conditions for the long-term sustainability of the project even after its official termination. All the outputs of the project will be available on-line after the termination of the project.
The Prague Botanical Garden (PBG) introduces the breath-taking world of plants using many different methods and since 1996, it has emphasised perceiving nature by all senses. We want our garden to be open to everyone, regardless of potential disability. Year 2012 was the turning point in these activities. On the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) conference we presented our long-term experience with visitors with special needs. Our project captured the attention of colleagues from all over Europe and we were invited to share our surprising experience via a case study published on the BGCI website. After that, we contacted our colleagues through European Botanic Gardens Consortium with the offer of cooperation on a common project aimed on the accessibility of BGs and arboreta. THE AIMS OF THE PROJECT, as stated in the application form (AF), were completely fulfilled during the 3y timespan, in some aspects and in a positive sense they were exceeded: 1. Create intellectual outputs: 1.1 “Botanical garden: Come in! Visitors with special needs in botanical gardens. Methodology” printed and online version (O1) 1.2 The model example of the interactive exhibition and of the activities for perception of the life of plants and the around world with all senses with the symbolical title: “Never Alone. The Secret of Symbiosis”(O2) 2. Improve and expand the offer of high-quality learning opportunities based on analysis of the needs of partner organizations 3. Strengthen international cooperation and networking between organizations at mutual meetings 4. Expand and develop qualification of educators based on sharing and developing gained experience primarily in the field of educational activities PROFILE OF THE PARTNER ORGANISATIONS 1. PBG (370 000 visitors/year) is a modern scientific and educational institution. The problematics of garden accessibility and visitors with special needs are considered a long-term priority 2. Gothenburg Botanical Garden (SWE, 500 000 v/y) one of the largest botanic gardens in Europe, has extensive public and educational activities, provides nature based therapy of stress-related disorders as well as stress management courses 3. The AMU Botanical Garden (PL, 980 000 v/y). Their multi-thematic educational offer includes guided tours, workshops and lectures as well as an extensive system of educational paths provided with information boards enabling visitors to explore the Garden’s collection on their own 4. Hungarian Association of Arboreta and BGs (HU) associated 40 institutes and 200 individuals all focusing on living plant collections, their management and related conservational and educational activities. ACTIVITIES According to AF we organised: - 7 transnational meetings in all project organizations – workshops, excursions, visits to inspirative places, analysis of the partnering organizations’ needs, the development of innovative educational approaches, preparing and carrying out intellectual outputs (O1,O2) - International Conference (E1), the main dissemination activity: “Botanical garden: A green world for everyone! Educational activities for visitors with special needs in green spaces”- dissemination on European and worldwide level (Nigeria, China-registred) - We successfully realized all the planned activities and essential outcomes of the project: exhibition for all senses, we issued the methodology and organized an international conference aimed on accessibility of BGs. - There were additional activities: meetings in each organisations; making of three video spots for presentation of the project (in English and Czech) for social media, project web and websites of partner institutions; realization of open-air activities called Garden for all senses in PBG - Other dissemination activities were realized during the whole 3y timespan of the project and significantly participated in positive rating of the project on all levels (see attachment). THE IMPACT of these activities surpassed the expectations formulated in AF especially in the European and worldwide scope. Thanks to the project, we contributed to the advancement of social role of BGs and we succeeded in moving the topic to the center of interest in Europe. An indisputable evidence is e.g. opening of the conference by Paul Smith, Secretary General of BGCI. A clear LONG-TERM BENEFIT of the project was increasing and deepening the attention to the topic of accessibility of BGs and the method of perceiving nature by all senses on all levels: - local – in all partner organizations the project spawned activities developing the topic of accessibility and their realization is planned for more than oncoming two years - national – all organizations will work further on the topic of accessibility and they place it among the priorities, the publication (O1) can be used as a tool to help this - international – long-term activation of the interest about BGs accessibility transgressing the region of Central Europe