Keysborough Wetlands

Practice Area

Client

City of Greater Dandenong

Industry

  1. Illustrated life size bird silhouettes playfully integrate with the native birdlife present in the wetland environment.

  2. The interpretive solution wraps around the curved banister to tie seamlessly into the boardwalk and environment.

  3. Giving bread to birds creates many problems for them and the environment. Being such a family-focussed area, there were many prior instances of residents feeding birds.

  4. Species common and scientific names are engraved into the boardwalk for easy identification.

  5. Showing not Telling. The design solution was anchored on qualitative research that showed a negative effect on users when they were presented with a ‘DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS’ message.

  6. The interpretive panel educates visitors with the indicators of a healthy wetland ecosystem.

  7. Long, fine, ribbon like panels follow the curved balustrade handrail and present above and below water ‘scenes’ which allow visitors to identify the prevalent species.

Project Vision

The Keysborough Wetlands is a unique wetland sanctuary built into the heart of a residential development, providing an important habitat for many birds, fish and turtles, and a place where people connect with nature. While the wetlands sanctuary is cherished, feeding the birds, fish and turtles was causing a significant detrimental affect on the health of the wetlands ecosystem and existing signage was not solving the problem.

The solution implements an exhibition style of 3D “guidebook” to inform people of the implications of their actions in a subtle way, rather than a “DO NOT” approach. Long panels follow the curved handrail and present water scenes that allow visitors to identify the prevalent species. The narrative of these panels is one of connectedness and fragility, a story reinforced through the linear connection of the illustrations, carefully crafted text and headings.

The negative impact of feeding the animals is subtly woven throughout the narrative. The animal illustrations are presented as life size, with larger species standing proud of the viewing platform, with names routed into the timber. This pragmatic solution adds visual interest and invites viewers to look over, under and around existing structure, increasing engagement, particularly for children.

This engaging and immersive solution has been highly successful as it stopped the behavioral issues it set out to stop. People are now more connected and feel invested in the health of the site and the ROI is significant as the alternative is extremely expensive and time consuming.

Project Details
Design Team

Mike Heine (design direction), Larni Williams (design, project management), Steve Jones (technical management), Georgia Quinn (research, content)

Project Area

320 sq ft

Project Budget

$35,250

Consultants

Brendon Rankin (engineering and structural advice), Maxine Hamilton (illustration)

Fabricators

Banana Graphics (fabrication, installation)