Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to launch UK’s first botanical BSL films (BSL)

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) will become the first botanic garden in the UK to introduce British Sign Language (BSL) films featuring newly developed botanical signs when its restored Palm Houses reopen this autumn.

The project, developed in partnership with the Scottish Sensory Centre at the University of Edinburgh, aims to improve access for Deaf visitors by introducing new botanical vocabulary in BSL and sharing stories about plants found within the Garden’s Living Collection.

Thirteen botanical concepts have been developed into new BSL signs for the project, including palm, fern, tree fern, frond, spore, epiphyte, climbing plant, tendril, leaflet, rhododendron, conifer and cactus.

Visitors will be able to watch a series of short BSL films by scanning QR codes throughout the restored 19th-century Palm Houses using the Bloomberg Connects app.

Sarah Cathcart, Director of Learning and Engagement at RBGE, said the project had been created to provide a more meaningful experience for Deaf visitors.

“Working closely with the Scottish Sensory Centre’s BSL Glossary team, we have developed a set of elegant and expressive new signs in British Sign Language to deliver a more meaningful and immersive experience for members of the Deaf community visiting the Garden.

These signs represent just the beginning of this important project. Through this collaboration we will continue to expand botanical vocabulary, ensuring that the natural world is more inclusive and accessible for all.”

The new signs were developed through collaboration between RBGE scientists, horticulturists and the Scottish Sensory Centre’s BSL Glossary project, led by Dr Audrey Cameron. Together, they identified the defining characteristics of different plants and botanical features before a Deaf-led team of BSL scriptwriters and signers created signs to represent each concept.

Dr Cameron said the project helps address a longstanding lack of botanical vocabulary in BSL.

“At present, very few botanical terms exist in BSL – even for familiar plant species such as daffodils. By creating new language designed specifically for the Deaf community, this unique project takes an important step forward in widening access to the wonders of plant biodiversity.”

As well as being used in the Palm Houses, the new botanical signs will be shared with organisations across the UK to encourage wider use and improve access to botanical knowledge for BSL users.

The films form part of the wider restoration of the Garden’s historic Palm Houses, which reopen this autumn following a major conservation project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Sensory Centre’s BSL Glossary project has previously developed more than 4,500 STEM signs in collaboration with Deaf scientists, educators and BSL linguists, helping to expand specialist vocabulary across science and education.

To find out more about the Palm Houses and plan a visit, see the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Palm Houses webpage