Wootten Reserve

The Wootten road reserve play and interpretation space is designed to provide an immersive, engaging place that reveals the history and ecology of the site.

Inspired by the memory of the lost homestead and grassland, the design seeks to rebuild these landscapes as an experience which integrates ecology and play. It seeks to increase understanding of the native grassland and also of the homestead garden to provide a window into the beauty of the natural landscape and also a sense of the pioneers living on the edge of the grassland. Undulating pathways weave through the site providing a variety of viewpoints in, on and above the grasses. By being up close to the grassland, the diversity and richness can be better understood. Within the homestead garden, the new exotic planting complements the existing exotic trees, using species common in the Victorian era (but only sterile varieties) to create a pioneer garden that recreates the settlers need for an alien but familiar landscape. The contrast between the exotic, shady, enclosed landscape and the open, expansive, native grassland re-enforces the life of the pioneer on the ‘edge’ of two worlds, between the familiarity of the home and the adventure of the new surroundings.