The Crosbie Morrison Centre for Environmental Education contains two classrooms for educational use and the Banksia Centre has an activity room and glasshouse for plant propagation, together with outdoor activity areas and a special garden.
The Gardens education service provides materials and training to teachers wishing to use the Gardens as a teaching resource. The Gardens does not provide living plant material to schools but, with suitable consultation, does make this material available to visiting groups for educational projects. Resource kits for teachers are prepared by the education service and made available on a needs basis or commercially through the Bookshop.
Formal education programs at the primary and secondary level concentrate on botanical, horticultural and ecological subjects, together with the cultural study of the uses of native plants by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
The Gardens has strong links with local tertiary institutions and encourages their use of its facilities. Recently a scheme has been implemented for a limited number of tertiary students to undertake botanical training and work experience in the Herbarium during long university vacations. The Gardens also cooperates with groups such as the University of the Third Age in providing facilities for senior citizens to pursue educational programs.
As part of this broad educational program, the Banksia Centre provides facilities for people with physical, intellectual or visual disabilities, to elderly people, and to people undergoing rehabilitation for physical or psychological reasons.
Programs at the Centre emphasize individual abilities and the need to equip disabled people with the skills and interests to enable them to lead a more fulfilling life. Participation in horticultural and other related activities is encouraged. The Centre provides the facilities and horticultural expertise for referring agencies to design programs to achieve therapeutic, vocational, or rehabilitation goals. Staff also offer advice and assistance in selecting and modifying tools and equipment suitable for use by people with disabilities, and on garden modifications and horticultural techniques which allow disabled people to continue gardening.
The Jervis Bay Gardens are visited by all levels of students, but without an education officer or classroom facilities on site there is often little contact with staff.
At the primary and secondary levels the Gardens will concentrate on training teachers and other educators to make the maximum use of its facilities and on providing appropriate educational materials and `discovery trails'. Emphasis will be placed on in-service training for teachers rather than face-to-face contact of Gardens staff with local students. A limited number of secondary work experience students will be accepted in various areas of the Gardens each year.
At the tertiary level the Gardens will continue to provide training and work-experience for botanical students and encourage the use of the site and facilities by students in a range of disciplines. The Gardens will also continue to cooperate with the University of the Third Age and similar organisations to provide educational facilities for senior citizens.
The Banksia Centre will be maintained and operated as a dynamic centre of excellence in the application of horticulture, with an emphasis on Australian native plants, to the education, recreation, and training of all people. The programs at the Centre which cater for people with disabilities, will, where practicable, be integrated with other educational and recreational activities being undertaken in the Gardens. The existing national role of the Centre will continue, with advice being provided on horticultural activities and facilities for the disabled.