Take an interpretative signage journey through Kings Park and Botanic Garden through the video below. Created by Jacqui Kennedy, Manager - Visitor Services, this slideshow aims to show the educational opportunities available to park managers by using a targeted signage plan with consistent layered themes that is not intrusive to the surrounding environment. The video is accompanied by 'The Great Aussie Garden' composed and performed by actor Quintin George.
People learn in different ways and require exposure to a variety of stimulus, in order to absorb, understand, appreciate and connect with the world around them.
The underlying foundation for all forms of interpretation by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority is based on three simple 'take-home' messages:
1. Kings Park and Bold Park are special places,
2. Western Australia has unique biodiversity, and
3. You Can Do It! - a call to environmental action for ecological sustainability.
One form of public education in Kings Park that attracts over 5,000 visitors annually is the free-guided botanic or cultural heritage walks offered twice daily for the public by our volunteer Guides. The Kings Park Guides are well trained to provide a valuable information service in the Visitor Information Centre, with the support of a vast array of brochures and displays.
One sign alone doesn't impart the key take home messages. It is the combined layering effect of the 'unconscious beauty' of the ordered garden, the standardised design and structure of a series of signs, the interactions with staff and the experiences the visitors have encountered that subliminally conveys the 'take-home' messages.