Melton Botanic Garden playspace secures landscape design award for nature play elements

Melton City Council has advised that it has secured a Landscape Architecture Award for its innovative nature-based playspace in the Melton Botanic Garden.

The award was won in the Play Spaces category at the recently held 2025 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Victoria Awards.

The playspace, which opened in 2023 was designed following community feedback from park users, residents and the Friends of Melton Botanic Garden.

The Melton Botanic Garden Nature Playspace was jointly funded by Melton City Council and the Growing Victoria’s Botanic Gardens Grants program, developed in collaboration with the Friends of Melton Botanic Garden.

Situated within a quiet botanic garden beside a lake, the playspace gently blends with its natural surroundings, incorporating recycled materials, local plants, rocks, logs, sand, and water.

The playspace provides a place where children can naturally experience their connection to the environment through play. By interacting freely with nature, children can better understand their relationship with other living things, encouraging respect, harmony, and long-term care for the local environment.

The judges were impressed with the ‘resourcefulness and imagination at the heart of the community-focused playspace’, with Council demonstrating that thoughtful design can deliver high-quality play spaces for local children.

Since opening, the playspace has provided a place where families and children can visit to experience their connection to the environment and nature through play.

City of Melton Mayor Steve Abboushi shared “The Melton Botanic Garden is such a treasured place for our community, offering a tranquil open space for residents of all ages to enjoy and attracting visitors from all over, and it’s great to see it getting this much-deserved recognition.

“This fantastic nature-based playspace has given residents another reason to visit the botanic garden, enjoy the great outdoors and connect with family and friends.”

“This playspace is testament to what can be achieved by working closely with the community to develop a vision and deliver a project that everyone can enjoy.”

Image. Melton Botanic Garden playspace. Credit: Fatima IIhan