I want to update the Friends on information relating to the Gardens and arrangements that will be taken for this workplace in the next few days.
This decision has not been taken lightly, but it is proving difficult to keep visitors adhering to the guidelines of personal distance and to ensure staff, visitors and contractors are safe at this difficult time. This decision also aligns with our other Parks (Booderee NP will also be closing tomorrow and Kakadu and Uluru on Thursday) and the other National Institutions in Canberra - most of whom have already closed to the public.
Thanks to all our staff's cooperative efforts we are in a good position to manage the closure. We have prepared ourselves in anticipation of this action and we have made the necessary arrangements to manage the Gardens and particularly the collections during the closure.
From Wednesday all non-operational staff will work from home or take leave if that is their preference. The only staff on site will be those from the Living Collections section (including Nursery), our Trades staff and the Seed Bank team - all identified as critical functions.
We have facilitated Work from Home arrangements for most staff and as of today many are already doing that - including me. This is not going to be an easy time for staff, especially those with children or other family or friends whom they support. However it is important that Parks Australia and our wonderful ANBG is still 'at work'. We will progress as much as we can under these circumstances and of course our priorities will be the plants and seeds under our care.
The contractors working on some of our capital projects will be continuing with special arrangements to access the Gardens. The work on the Banks and Crosbie Morrison buildings will still be progressing.
Closure of the Gardens again in 2020 seems amazing, but I hope you will all appreciate that we feel this is the best way to preserve the Gardens and to keep everybody safe and healthy.
Keep healthy and safe yourselves.
