Play & Engagement with Gardens


This event, in partnership with English Heritage and the Walmer Castle and Gardens Team, explored how play can be used in gardens and other designed landscapes.

Gardens are multifunctional spaces with the potential to offer a range of facilities and services beyond but linked to their main horticultural focus. As such, there is scope to provide services to local communities and schools as well as better engaging visitors to the garden. Finding new ways of engaging visitors that also fulfils learning and health/wellbeing purposes can be challenging but play, aimed at both children and adults, has considerable potential to achieve this. This training day looked at how Walmer Castle have successfully integrated different engagement activities, particularly the element of play, in their recent HLF-funded project to redevelop the west end of the gardens.

Alongside the English Heritage team, including English Heritage’s Family Interpretation Manager Sarah Shaw, were a number of other speakers providing a perspective from other projects and gardens. See their presentations below.


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