AlburyCity has finalised the Master Plan for the iconic Albury Botanic Gardens, which will guide the future vision for the gardens over the next 20 years.

The plan was developed in close consultation with the community to understand what they love about the gardens, areas for improvement and how the gardens can be developed into the future.

Established in 1877 and with over 200,000 visitors per year, the Botanic Gardens is referred to as AlburyCity’s 'Jewel in the Crown', and is one of our most treasured locations. They are also recognised as one of the finest regional Botanic Gardens across both New South Wales and Victoria.

Key features of the plan include:

• A Community Hub which will house an expansion of the Children’s Garden, an education centre and outdoor learning space, an urban food garden where the community can learn how to grow their own food, a visitor centre and a café.
• An entrance forecourt with water play for the kids, connecting the gardens to the Murray River and improving access between the CBD and the river.
• A state of the art conservatory, providing an all-weather botanical wonderland for visitors.
• Upgrading of the historic ponds to create a native garden, housing a new collection of plants from the Murray River. Seating will surround an open lawn area, creating a relaxed gathering space in the heart of the gardens.
• Naturalising Bungambrawatha Creek with rocks and plantings to make it more environmentally friendly, increase habitat and improve the overall look and feel.
• Pocket Parks will create plant filled picnic areas for locals and visitors to enjoy, whilst also acting as new entrances, increasing access to the gardens.
• An expansion of the gardens’ footprint, with additional botanical plantings in the surrounding streets. This includes decorative planting at the entrances and a new garden on Monument Hill, showcasing drought tolerant plants in the palm filled extension from Dean Street.
• The replacement of the trees on Elm Avenue which have reached the end of their life expectancy. Beautiful replacement Ginkgo trees which have been growing for eight years will replace the elms, as well as a new floral perennial border, which will be one of the longest in Australia!

Being a 20 year vision for the gardens, projects within the plan will be staged over the short (5 years), medium (10 years) and long-term (20 years and beyond).

AlburyCity Mayor Kylie King thanked the community for their input into the plan.

"The Botanic Gardens is a beautiful space within our city and is a great place to take a stroll, relax with a picnic or experience the many events that the gardens play host to," said Mayor King.

"I can't wait to see the improvements to the gardens and experience the wonderful range of flora and fauna that call them home."

The Albury Botanic Gardens Master Plan can be viewed on the Strategies and Plans section of the AlburyCity website.