Botanical Gardens for Productive Interplay between Emotions and Cognition

Botanical gardens are often designed with biological deliberations in mind, such as the need to preserve biodiversity. As in other community acts, functionality is also an important concern. In contrast, the need to connect with human values, such as tolerance, care or justice, and the facility to provoke interaction, reflection and discussion are often sidelined. More broadly, the social and educational aims of these institutions are often placed second in the design priorities, even though they are emphasized strongly in formulations of the underlying purpose and intentions. From an educational perspective, the interplay between emotions and cognition has an important influence on the visitor learning experience. In this paper, we elaborate on this interplay and we explore possible implications (a) for the design of botanical garden spaces, but also (b) for the formative process that emerges from the convolution of garden spaces, visitor expectations and interactive activities for teaching and learning. We introduce the term useful botanical garden and, through analysis, we develop a theoretical framework that provides a cognitive approach for the educational design of botanical gardens drawing on three dimensions: Sensibility (refering to those features of the design of botanical garden spaces that serve to create a sense of welcoming comfort, safety and homeostasis). Functionality (features of the garden spaces that scaffold interactions and cognitive processes). Rationality (refering to the facility of visitors to reflect on six values—care, fairness, loyalty, authority, sanctity, and liberty—and how they relate to the elements present in the botanical garden). We illustrate this model with reference to a range of botanical gardens. We elaborate on how these factors work together to highlight the educational features of botanical gardens and also discuss the implications of this model for the design of activities and educational experiences as well as for teacher preparation and professional development in the service of promoting environmental insight.