NWU Botanical Garden
The NWU Botanical Garden is managed by the School of Environmental Sciences and Development of the North-West University and is a recognised member of BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International). The Botanical Garden fulfills many important functions within the School of Environmental Sciences and Development and the broader community.
Key activities of the NWU Botanical Garden:
• Provision of practical material for the training of students.
• Conservation of rare and endangered plants.
• Research and research support.
• Education in the community about relevant environmental issues.
The origin of the NWU Botanical Garden dates back to 1963 when Dr. W.J. Louw, a Botany lecturer, developed the garden to supply plant material for Botany practicals. With the arrival of Dr. D.J. Botha in 1971, a Botany lecturer in Systematics, the impetus came to develop a Botanical Garden.
During the 1970’s the Botanical Garden flourished under the supervision of Mr. Bert Ubbinck, the first horticulturalist and curator. On 24 November 1982 the Botanical Garden was officially opened by Dr. W.J. Louw.
The Botanical Garden is currently enjoying a big resurgence and is definitely worth visiting.
Potchefstroom is located in a lower lying area along the Mooi River, in the Highveld region of South Africa; Latitude, 26° 43.00’ S; Longitude, 27° 05.00’ E. The region is characterised by cold dry winters with frequent frost and hot summers with regular thundershowers. The average rainfall is 767 millimetres a year. As a result of cold air settling in this lower lying area temperatures as low as minus 10 °C have been recorded in the Botanical Garden during winter.
The Botanical Garden is situated adjacent to the Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University. It covers an area of almost 3 hectares. Most of the plants in the Botanical Garden are indigenous with the exception of a few exotic plants which are of botanical or medicinal interest. A section of the garden, around a man-made ridge, is managed as a natural field garden while the rest of the garden is more intensively managed. A variety of mammals, birds, amphibians and fish made the garden their home in recent years providing a whole new dimension to the Botanical Garden.
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