Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden Master Plan
The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden is envisaged as the pre-eminent facility for the display of the plant biodiversity of the southern arid zones of Australia.
The Garden is owned and operated by the City of Port Augusta for the benefit of the local and wider community. The establishment of a botanic garden to display arid flora was first accepted by Council in 1981.
The first Master Plan was instigated in 2009 to ensure developments did not have a detrimental affect on the Garden. The purpose of a Master Plan is to set a direction for future development. Botanic Gardens develop over long time periods as the landscape plantings grow and are replaced.
A Botanic Garden exists to satisfy diverse needs for a range of users. These activities should be provided within a framework that protects, enhances and develops the Garden over time.
A review was initiated in 2019 to examine site developments that have occurred in the 10 year interval and consider plans to reflect both development progress and changed circumstances. The updated Master Plan was adopted by Council in December 2020.
A list of proposed actions to be undertaken at the Garden are included in the Master Plan under the headings of immediate, short term, medium term and longer term.
All actions are dependent on availability of funds through either donations, grant funding or budget allocation through Council. It is envisaged that continued support both financially and in-kind will be available through the Friends of the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden.