The Friends and staff of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens may be able to take teachers and parents accompanying the students on a pre-visit tour to familiarise them with the features of the tour. This could be done during school hours or out of school hours depending on availability of staff and volunteers. Contact the Robert Clark Centre on 5320 7444 to organise a time to visit. The following suggestions may help leaders when explaining or giving instructions to your group:

• On a sunny day have your audience in the shade wherever possible. Ensure that the sun is not in their eyes when you are talking to them
• Make sure the students are facing you when you are talking - make eye contact
• Wait for the group to gather before commencing what you have to say - do not walk and talk at the same time as few children will hear what you have to say
• Students are often full of questions and suggestions. Encourage them to ask or suggest, but one at a time. Explain this at the start of your tour - you can only listen to one person at a time. Encourage students to wait their turn to contribute.
• Always stand so that your audience can see you and the object you are talking about
• Speak clearly and slowly and make sure you are not straining your voice
• When demonstrating, ensure that the children have a clear view of what you are showing them from their perspective - they are short! A good way to start when handling an object is to say, "Can everyone see what I have in my hands?"
• Read the label (if there is one) before you start to talk about a plant - just to make sure you have the right one
• If you do not know the answer to a question, say so. Suggest that at an appropriate time the student asks a staff member if they know the answer, or, where to find out more on the topic.
• Be aware of other groups using the same trail. If the group before yours is taking longer than expected, you could look at some of the other plants nearby to avoid the students becoming distracted.