Adam Mickiewicz University Botanical Garden in Poznań
The Botanical Gardens are a research and teaching division of Adam Mickiewicz University, with free access to the public during the opening hours.
It contains an imposing collection of over 7,000 species and varieties of plants from almost every climate zone around globe. The display is arranged in separate departments: ornamental plants, geography, ecology, systematics, biology and changeability of plants.
Regarding nature conservation the garden area and its vicinity are protected by law since 2004. The Botanical Garden organises comprehensive scientific and educational activities - these include research projects, scientific cooperation with other botanical gardens
For the educational purposes the Botanical Garden created a vast array of activities - many of them based on ICT. The examples include geolocated trees and points of interests, combined with an app as virtual guide through the garden.
In 2013 a new project has been implemented - the ornithological educational path - aiming at informing the users about the birds’ species they can meet in the garden. The project started with workshops with pupils and teenagers for mapping the species and their behaviour. 30 panels are distributed around the garden, in most probable places to observe a bird species. The panels contain a photo and information about the birds’ species, their characteristics, and how to observe them. A QR in the panel enables to listen to the birds’ warble.
The projects of the Botanical Garden are evidences of the potential of ICT to increase the access to information and knowledge, and in the case of the Garden to increase the environmental awareness, especially for involving school children.
Dept. of Plant Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, in cooperation with the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Poland