USER OPINIONS IN BOTANICAL GARDEN PLANNING: EXAMLE OF MUŞ ALPARSLAN UNIVERSITY

 

This article has been produced from the doctoral dissertation "Investigation of Botanical Garden Feasibility in Muş Alparslan University

 

ABSTRACT

Objective. A survey was applied among university students in order to help in planning a botanical garden in the campus of Muю Alparslan University. Using the results of the survey, it is aimed to learn the students’ knowledge about the region, their awareness of the duties and objectives of the botanical gardens, the effects of a botanical garden on the university grounds and what kind of activities they want to be found.

Material and Methods. The main material is constitute the survey. The questions in the survey were prepared with the contribution of faculty members of the Department of Sociology at Muю Alparslan University. 5% of the total number of students is taken from the probabilistic technique.

Results. The results of the questionnaire were evaluated by transferring them to the graphs and the participants’ desire for botanical garden was determined. Students who took part in the survey were randomly selected.

Conclusion. As a result of the evaluation of the questionnaires, information and expectations of the students about the botanical garden were determined. The percentage distribution of the structural elements and activities in the botanical garden is summarized as follows: 52% (328 people) preferred to have a run and walk path, 53% (335 people) have library, greenhouse, plant sale, herbarium centre and cafe.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Цель. Среди студентов университета была проведена анкета с целью планировки ботанического сада на территории кампуса университета Муш Алпарслан. Используя результаты опроса, возможно выяснить знания студентов о регионе, их осведомлённость о обязанностях и целях ботанических садов, влияние ботанического сада на территорию университета и какие виды деятельности они хотели бы найти в нём.

Материал и методы. Основной материал представляет собой опрос. Вопросы опроса были подготовлены при участии преподавателей кафедры социологии университета Муш Алпарслан. Вероятностным методом принято 5% от общего числа студентов.

Результаты. Результаты анкетирования были оценены путём составления графиков и определения желания участников иметь ботанический сад. Студенты, принявшие участие в опросе, были отобраны случайным методом.

Заключение. В результате оценки анкетных данных была определена информация и ожидание студентов от биологических садов. Процентное распределение структурных элементов и видов деятельности в ботаническом саду выглядит следующим образом: 52% (328 человек) предпочли иметь дорожку для бега и прогулок, 53% (335 человек) - библиотеку, оранжерею, продажу растений, гербарный центр и кафе.

 

Keywords: botanical garden, survey study, Mus.

Ключевые слова: ботанический сад, опросное исследование, Муш

 

1. Introduction. There are several methods to be used for collecting data for scientific research. Among these, survey (questionnaire form) is one of the methods that are used the most. Survey; is a method that is used mostly in sociological and epidemiological research and is developed for receiving planned and standard information from people for several matters. According to the practices, there are a number of methods which can be listed as: 1. Face-to-face survey, 2. Via-post surveys, 3. Via-telephone surveys, 4. Surveys under observation [11, p. 336-340].

Questions to be used in the survey can be open-ended or closed-ended. It is also possible to include both types of questions in a single survey.

Open ended questions. A blank area is given to the participant to write down their response. However, this type of survey might bring a wide range of answers and it might be difficult to analyse.

Closed ended questions. Responses are listed after the question, participant chooses one or more among them. These types of questions provide more coherent and orderly results, however, the responses are limited to the choices presented [ p. 2-20].

Questions in the survey should be grouped and similar kind of questions must be brought into a single group. More general kind of questions must be asked before, detailed and private questions must follow them. It is possible to group the questions that take place in surveys:

Factual questions. Age, education level, income level, marriage status, sex, birth place, religion and occupancy of a person can be learned by these.  

Behavioural questions. This kind of questions are about the personal and societal practices of people. For example, consumption behaviours, personal habits, which newspaper do they read and such information are obtained with these questions.

Attitude and belief questions. These are the questions to understand what one person thinks about a certain thing at a certain time. At attitude scales, there are mostly closed-ended questions used but there might be coded open-ended questions too.  

Information questions. These questions are appropriate when trying to learn what people know about a certain thing, through which channel did they learn and what was the first time that they learnt it etc. [2, p. 5].

In this research, a survey study is conducted in order to learn about the knowledge that the university students have about the botanical garden, and to detect their expectations and wills. Responses of the randomly selected students are transferred to the licensed SPSS program, they are transferred into graphs and they are evaluated then used for the planning of the botanical garden.

2. Former studies. While selecting the research method, studies conducted before by a) Kэlэз 1995, b) Karaюah and Var 2016, c) Karaюah 2014, d) Demirkan and Uysal 2011 were used. These studies are summarized below:

a) In the study which was prepared as a Master’s thesis at Ege University, named “Research on Opportunities to Planning Small Gardens in Izmir City Example (Эzmir Kenti Цrneрinde Kent Kьзьk Bahзeleri Planlama Olanaklarэ Ьzerine Araюtэrmalar), definition of the small city gardens, their purposes and their functions are explained, survey questions were prepared and they are applied to the people who rent these gardens. According to the results, information on who rented these gardes for what, which purposes, the age range of the people who rented these gardens, which factors were influential and such were obtained. As a result of this study, people who rent were doing so because of three main reasons which are making use of their spare times, keeping up with their habits from their life before and receiving economic benefits. According to these, reaching the recreation in a green area, having a entertaining hobby, gathering with people and gaining health can be listed as other reasons. According to these results, the information on the extent that these small city gardens reach their goals, their necessity in the city life and what do they mean for the people who live in the city. In addition to the research results, the principles of planning small city gardens were also presented.  These are its location, size, relationships with the close environment and the structure. Also, small garden necessity is listed among the matters to be taken into consideration while planning residential areas and multi-floored buildings [9, p. 56].

b) In the study named “Defining the Visitor Preferences for Botanical Gardens on Nezahat Gokyigit Example (Nezahat Gцkyiрit Botanik Bahзesi Цrneрinde Botanik Bahзelerinde Ziyaretзilerin Tercihlerinin Belirlenmesi)”, a survey study for 311 people was conducted in autumn and spring in order to find out the seasonal-locational preferences and the purposes of the usage of botanical gardens, in addition to that, a visual survey study was also conducted for finding out the landscape design preferences. The visual survey study was conducted face-to-face with 150 people. In order to get an obbjective evaluation, a fractal analysis was made by the visitors. For the statistical analysis of the data, SPSS statistical package program was used. As for the results of the survey, 40.5% of the visitors told that they visit botanical gardens for getting away from the stress and crowd, and 14.1% of the visitors told that for having a nice day out, and their locational and landscape preferences change in accordance with the seasons. As for the fractal analysis results, it is seen that visitors mostly prefer fractal size images. Preferences and motivations of the visitors can be used by the botanical garden administators for the existing and future development plans and designs [7, p. 120-1230].

c) In the study named “Evaluating Visual Landscape Preferences in Botanical Gardens: Nezahat Gokyigit Botanical Garden (Istanbul) and Royal Botanical Garden (Edinburgh) Examples (Botanik Bahзelerinde Gцrsel Peyzaj Tercihlerinin Deрerlendirilmesi: Nezahat Gцkyiрit Botanik Bahзesi (Эstanbul) ve Kraliyet Botanik Bahзesi (Edinburg) Цrnekleri)” , the expectations of visitors from botanical gardens, the usage purposes and locational-seasonal preferences were found out and the parameters which had an impact on these preferences were evaluated. While defining the profiles of the visitors, the survey method was used; for defining their landscape preferences, photograph survey method; and for their locational-seasonal preferences, GPS was used; and lastly for finding out which parameters were effective, visual survey method was used.  From the survey study, the result of both botanical gardens being firstly used for recreational purposes was obtained. In photograph surveys, the existence of water and flowers was effective in the photograph selections; and this being similar to the information obtained by general surveys, selection surveys and GPS technology was understood. Defining parameters of the selected photographs for visual evaluations while evaluating the visual landscape were understood. It was seen that culture is a very important factor while perceiving the landscape [6, p.60].

d) In the study named “ A Survey Study About Menemen (Izmir) Cotton Producers (About Plant Protection) (Menemen (Эzmir) Pamuk Ьreticilerine Yцnelik (Bitki Koruma Aзэsэndan) Bir Anket Зalэюmasэ)”, a survey study was conducted in order to find out the problems that cotton producers experience. The survey consists 16 questions. The results are transferred into graphs and the were evaluated. As a result, the education level of producers, size of the planted area, weed existence and similar information, herbicide usage, the problems that they face and such information are obtained [3, 277-282].

3. Material and method. By considering the methods used for the abovementioned studies, a survey was prepared with the help of the Sociology Department’s faculty members and a survey was created and presented to the university students. This is why survey is the main material of the study.

The method of the study is using random samples (participants, users) by using the convenience method which is one of the non-contingent sampling techniques. In the random selection, since everybody has the same chance, the reliability of the results is also high.

Random (indiscriminate) sampling includes sampling methods which the possibility of a person or a component to be selected from the working universe and the rate of this possibility is not zero. Here, components or people are chosen randomly and because of that, there is no systematic false assumptions. There is only the chance factor that plays a role in the determination of the selected components. Random sampling lets statistics to be used and hypotheses to be tested, tries to minimize the prejudice and selections of people are random [15, p. 15].

Table 1. Survey Head. There must be a cover letter or an application-introduction at the beginning of the survey study in order to inform the participants (Table 1). The components below are recommended to be included in the cover letter:

1) Purpose of the survey, 2) Incentive components that will make people to fill the survey correctly, 3) Assurance to people that their identity will not be disclosed to anyone, 4) Information about the subject [2, http://eski.bingol.edu.tr/-media/264540/15anket.pdf].

Units that an observation or a trial must be done are called the “research unit”. These units and the information obtained from these units create the research material [8, sec. 4]. So, the research material is consisted of the forms of the survey that is conducted among the university students. A survey study was conducted in order to research about the possibility of establishing a botanical garden to the Mus Alparslan University. For this, assistance from Mus Alparslan University was received and survey questions related to the subject were created.

There are 8000 students which are studying at the university (2014). According to the standards used at the sociology department, 5% of the total number of students (400 people) would be enough to conduct this survey study, however, the study was conducted with 631 people by using the convenience technique from the non-contingent sampling methods. Because of this technique used, the results are not binding for the whole university. Results of the survey study were transferred to the graphs by using the licensed SPSS programme. Results are used at determining the structural elements that they want to see at the botanical garden and their functions. Survey was conducted in order to determine how the existence of a botanical garden would influence students, how it will contribute to the Mus province, what will take place in the botanical garden and to learn about the attitude of students about their environment and the nature. The survey study, at the same time, was helpful to determine what students prioritize at garden planning. In addition, while evaluating the contribution of the botanical garden to the Mus province, benefits from the teaching and recreational perspectives were detected and visitor potential was determined as well.

4. Findings.

4.1. Survey Study. Survey study was conducted among university students who study at different classes and departments in 2015. When the total number of students who are studying at the university are 8000 (2014), the study was conducted among 631 students who were selected with the convenience technique among the non-contingent sampling techniques. Results were transferred into bar graphs by using the licensed SPSS programme.

Table 2. Survey Questions. By receiving assistance from the Faculty of Education Sociology Department, survey questions related to the survey were prepared and a survey study was conducted among the university students. Survey questions can be found in Table 2.

a) Transferring survey results to graphs. By using the licensed SPSS program and during the analysis of the data, frequencies and percentages were calculated and transferred into graphs. Findings obtained were tried to be explained. So, the data obtained from the research were evaluated with descriptive statistical analyses. Descriptive statistical analyses are among the three main parts of the statistical science together with the collection, compilation, summarizing and analysing the numerical data [20, https://www.wikiwand.com/tr/Betimsel-istatistik ].

Table 3. Statistics of the ‘Level of Income’ question. In order to find out the level of income of the students who are studying at the university, by relying on the information that can be found on Table 3 created by the data obtained from the ‘Level of Income’ question, 46% of the people who participated are from the low-level income families. Families with high level income are only 3, 20%.

Figure 1. ‘Comparison of the education level and level of income’ question. In the comparison of the information about the education with or without scholarship and the level of income in Figure 1, it is seen that most of the students who have low income levels are receiving scholarships. In other categories, the number of students with scholarships are more.

Figure 2. Results of the ‘Birth place’ question. ‘Birth Place?’ question’s responses indicate that (Figure 2), students from Mus, Van, Bitlis and such neighbouring centres are high in numbers. This indicates that they know the environmental and living conditions.

Figure 3. Results of ‘What appears on your mind when hearing B.G.’ question. As a response to the ‘What appears on your mind when hearing B.G.?’ question, (Figure 3), most of the participants, as seen in the graph, selected the peaceful and calming environments along with the natural environment selection. This is an indicator of botanical garden brings people the opportunity to get closer to the nature. Also, students considered getting information as well.  

Figure 4. Results of ‘Your expectations form the botanical garden’ question. As a response to the ‘What are your expectations from the botanical garden?’ question, (Figure 4), students who have responded preferred more to be close to the nature, to see different plants, to get information, to walk and to buy plants.

Figure 5. Comparison of ‘Do you have any information regarding the botanical gardens in different cultures’ question and ‘Have you ever visited a botanical garden in Turkey?’ question. ‘Do you have any information regarding the botanical gardens in different cultures?’ question’s responses (Figure 5) indicate that there is not a huge difference between the numbers of people who have visited and have not visited botanical gardens in Turkey. However, most of the people who have no idea about the botanical gardens in different cultures have not visited botanical gardens in Turkey either.  

Figure 6. Comparison of ‘Where would you like a botanical garden to be located in Mus?’ question and ‘Would you like a botanical garden to be opened in Mus?’ questions. Most of the participants who have responded to ‘Would you like a botanical garden to be opened in Mus?’ question (Figure 6), responded the ‘Where would you like a botanical garden to be located in Mus?’ question with a huge difference by selecting the “university area” the more and “city centre” the less. Ones who responded as “I have no idea” to the question regarding opening a botanical garden did not take this into consideration and they wanted it to be opened at the university area. 

Figure 7. Comparison of the ‘What impact the B.G. will create on the local population’ question and ‘How often do you visit a B.G. if there is one in your city’ questions. Ones who have opted for the ‘How often do you visit a B.G. if there is one in your city?’ question (Figure 7) as there are no botanical gardens mostly selected the “educational, beneficial and calming” option while answering the ‘What impact it will create on the local population?’ question. From this, it is indicated that even though they do not have a botanical garden in their city, they know the benefits that it can provide. Ones who have responded it as “I will go every day, every week, every month” have also mostly selected the “educational, beneficial and calming” option. The ones who have selected the other options for the question, which are “I will go sometimes, I will never go” have selected the “educational, beneficial and calming” and “calming and time spending” options as well.

Figure 8 (a). Comparison of the responses of ‘Would you spend your spare times at the B.G.’ question as ‘Yes’ and ‘would the existence of roads to walk and run make your visits more frequent’ questions. Ones who opted for the ‘Would you spend your spare times at the botanical garden?’ question with ‘yes’ answer (Figure 8 a); opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more if there is the existence of walking paths more than the running paths?’ rather than the ones who have opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more if there is the existence of running paths more than the walking paths?’. Ones who opted ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more if there is the existence of running paths more than the walking paths?’ have selected the running path option at the same amount. Ones who have opted ‘partly’ for the ‘Would you visit the garden more if there is the existence of running paths more than the walking paths?’ question have also thought that the existence of running paths will affect them partly. This was followed by ‘yes and a few ‘no’ answers.  

Figure 8 (b).  Comparing the question of ‘Would you spend your spare times at the B.G.’ and ‘Yes’ responses and the ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’ with the ‘Would you spend your spare times at the B.G.’ question. Ones who opted for ‘Would you spend your spare times at the botanical garden?’ question as ‘no (Figure 8 b); opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are running paths?’ rather than the ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’ question as ‘yes’. This means that even if they do not want to spend their spare times at the botanical garden, they may change their minds if there are running and walking paths. For the ones who opted as ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’, it did not change for them to select ‘no’ for the running path question. Most of the ones who selected the ‘partly’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’, think that the existence of a running path might influence them and the amount of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers are the same.

Figure 8 (c). Comparing the ones who have responded the question of ‘Would you like to spend your spare times at the B.G.’ as ‘Partly’ and the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’ with the question of ‘Would you like to spend your spare times at the B.G.’. Ones who have opted for the question of ‘Would you like to spend your spare times at the B.G.’ as ‘Partly’ (Figure 8 c); opted more for the ‘yes’ option for the ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are running paths?’ than the ‘yes’ option for the ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’. Ones who have opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’ have also opted for the ‘no’ answer for the running path answer. Ones who have opted for ‘partly’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there are walking paths?’ mostly think that the existence of a running path might affect them partly.

Figure 9 (a). Comparing the ones who have opted for ‘Would you be interested in the B.G. Herbarium Centre? Question as ‘yes’ and the questions of ‘If there is a Cafй in the B.G.’ and ‘What would you like to be at the B.G.’. Most of the ones who have opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you be interested in the Botanical Garden Herbarium Centre?’ (Figure 9 a) and the ones who have opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there was a cafй?’ opted more for the existence of a ‘library, greenhouse, plant sales, herbarium centre’. ‘Cafй and library’ follows this. Some students opted for the existence of a wedding saloon. Most of the ones who have opted for ‘no for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there was a cafй?’ opted more for ‘greenhouse, plant sales and herbarium’. This is followed by “library, plant sales, greenhouse and herbarium”. By looking at this result, it can be said that the participants who are not going to be affected by the existence of a cafй think more about the educational side of the botanical garden. Most of the ones who have opted for ‘partly’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the garden more often if there was a cafй?’ have opted for ‘library, greenhouse, plant sales, herbarium’. This is followed by the ‘cafй and library’ option. 

Figure 9 (b). Comparing the ones who opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you be interested in an Herbarium at the B.G.’ and the questions of ‘If there is a cafй in the B.G.’ and ‘What would you like to be’. Ones who opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you be interested in an Herbarium at the Botanical garden?’ (Figure 9 b); opted more for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the botanical garden more if there is a cafй?’ opted more for the existence of ‘library, greenhouse, plant sales, herbarium’ and this is followed by ‘cafй and library’. A part of students cared about the existence of a wedding saloon. The opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the botanical garden more if there is a cafй?’ mostly opted for ‘library, greenhouse, plant sales, herbarium’ option. This is followed by ‘greenhouse, herbarium, plant sales’ and ‘cafй and library’ options. The ones who opted for ‘partly for the question of ‘Would you visit the botanical garden more if there is a cafй?’ opted for ‘library, greenhouse, plant sales, herbarium’. This is followed by ‘cafй and library’.

Figure 10. A comparison of ‘If the entrance to the B.G. was not for free, would you visit there less often? Question and ‘Would you visit the B.G. if it was far away from the city?’ questions. The ones who opted more for ‘yes’ for the ‘Would you visit the botanical garden if it was far away from the city?’ question (Figure 10) also mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would an entrance fee make your visits less often?’ question too. As it can be seen from the graph, it is followed by ‘partly’ and ‘no’ answers in the same order. It means that a free botanical garden is more attractive for the local people. Ones who opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you visit the botanical garden if it was far away from the city?’ also opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would an entrance fee make your visits less often?’. This is followed by ‘partly’ and ‘no’ answers in the same order.

Figure 11 (a). Comparison of the ones who opted for the ‘Would you like to provide plants from the botanical garden’ question as ‘yes’, and the questions of ‘Do you grow plants’ and ‘Where do you grow plants if you do’. The ones who opted more for ‘partly’ for the ‘Would you like to provide plants from the botanical garden?’ question (Figure 11a) mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Do you grow plants?’ question. This option is followed by ‘partly’ and least, ‘no’ answers. Most of the ones who opted more for ‘partly’ for this question opted for ‘at the garden’, and a part of participants opted for the ‘at home’ option with a slight difference to the question of ‘Where do you grow plants if you do? Ones who have opted for ‘no’ for this question of ‘Where do you grow plants if you do?’ mostly opted for ‘at the garden’. This answer is not taken into consideration since it creates contradiction.

Figure 11 (b). Comparison of the ones who opted for the ‘Would you like to provide plants from the botanical garden’ question as ‘no’, and the questions of ‘Do you grow plants’ and ‘Where do you grow plants if you do’.

Those who said ‘no’ to the question ‘do you spend your free time in the botanical garden?’ (Figure 11 b); those who said ‘yes’ to the question of ‘If there is a walking path, would your visit to the botanical garden? They gave superiority to the ‘yes’ option of the question. This means that even if they don’t want to spend their free time in the botanical garden, the existence of a walking and jogging path can change their mind. For those who said ‘no’ to the question ‘Would you increase your visit to the botanical garden?’ Most of those who say ‘partially’ to the question of ‘if there is a walking path, will your visit to the botanical garden?’ that the presence of the track will partially affect them. And the number of those who choose ‘yes’ and ‘no’ is the same.

Figure 11 (c). The comparison of the ones who opted for ‘partly’ for the ‘Would you like to provide plants from the botanical garden’ question with the questions of ‘Do you grow plants’ and ‘Where do you grow plants if you do’. The ones who opted more for ‘partly’ for the ‘Would you like to provide plants from the botanical garden?’ question (Figure 11c) also mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Do you grow plants?’ question. This option is followed by ‘partly’ and ‘no’ answers in the same order. Most of the ones who opted more for ‘yes’ for this question opted for ‘at the garden’, and the amount of people that is the half of this option opted for ‘at home’ for the question of ‘Where do you grow plants if you do?’ question. Ones who have opted for ‘partly’ for this question mostly opted for ‘at the garden’ and the amount of people that is half of it opted for ‘at home’. Ones who have opted for ‘no’ for this question mostly opted for ‘at home’ and less people opted for ‘at the garden’. This answer was not taken into consideration since it was creating a contradiction.

Figure 12. Comparing ‘Which kind of activities would you like at the botanical garden’ and ‘Would you recommend the garden if there was a wedding place” questions. Among the ones who answered the ‘Which kind of activities would you like at the botanical garden” question (Figure 12), most of them selected “sports and running” first, “sports, running and growing plants” then, and “organizing weddings” the least. ‘Would you recommend the garden if there was a wedding place?’ question was answered with ‘yes’ by the most of them. Ones who selected “organizing weddings and growing plants” for the first question all selected “yes” for the question of ‘Would you recommend the garden if there was a wedding place?”.

Figure 13. Comparison of the ‘Would you like to be a volunteer at the B.G’ question with the ‘Would you like to have an information guide at B. G.’ question. The ones who mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you like to have an information guide at Botanical Garden?’ (Figure 13) also mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you like to be a volunteer at the Botanical Garden?’ question, this is followed by ‘partly’ and ‘no’ and ‘no idea’ options in the same order. The ones who mostly opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you like to have an information guide at Botanical Garden?’ mostly opted for ‘no’ for the question of ‘Would you like to be a volunteer at the Botanical Garden?’, it is followed by ‘yes’ & ‘partly’ and ‘no idea’ as much as the half of the ‘yes’.

Figure 14. Comparison of the ‘Would you recommend people to visit B.G’ question with the question of ‘Would you bring your children to the B.G.?’. Most of the participants opted for ‘yes, sometimes’ to the question of ‘Would you bring your children to the Botanical Garden?’ (Figure 14), and most of the ones who have opted for ‘no’ have mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you recommend people to visit Botanical Garden’, and this is a result to be thought on. Ones who opted for other options for the ‘Would you bring your children to the Botanical Garden.?’ question mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of ‘Would you recommend people to visit Botanical Garden’.

Figure 15. Comparing the 'Do you care about the appearance of your neighbourhood' question with the question of 'Where do you prefer to rest'. The ones who mostly opted for ‘yes’ for the question of 'Do you care about the appearance of your neighbourhood?' (Figure 15), opted for ‘picnic areas, garden, aquatic environment’ firstly, ‘forest, picnic area, garden’ the following and ‘forest, mountainous area’ the following for the question of ‘Where do you prefer to rest?’. These are followed by in order as such: “mountainous area, park, aquatic environment”, “park, aquatic environment”, “forest, mountainous area, garden”, “picnic area, garden” options. The ones who mostly opted for ‘no’ for the question of 'Do you care about the appearance of your neighbourhood?' have mostly opted for ‘picnic area, garden, aquatic environment’ and ‘picnic area, garden’ options. These are followed by ‘forest, a mountainous area’ with a slight difference. That means that ones who care about aesthetics and ones that do not want to rest in the same natural environment.

5. Discussions and conclusion. Because modern cities’ population is rising dramatically and they are developing, green areas are getting less in number. In addition to that, industry being developed, establishing new roads and living spaces let the natural areas to be destroyed without a purpose [5, p. 384]. This is why green areas inside the city getting more in number is becoming more and more significant day by day [18, p. 275-284]. As the main tool to get landscape approach to gain more efficiency in the city, public spaces are becoming more important; parallel to the increasing population, especially about meeting the requirements about qualified location needs [13, p. 3-15; 4, p. 1877–1880].

According to their sizes, botanical gardens are in a different category than the other parks since they include plant collections, greenhouses, administrative structure, laboratories, technical equipment and such parts and they have an educational and research side [16, p. 53-68].

A place that is proposed to the planner for any purpose, before anything else, must be detected to see that if it meets the proposed purpose and usage. Otherwise, units and the whole place that consist the body of such planning might be affected badly [1, p. 386].

In order to botanical garden to fulfill its functions, the meteorological conditions of the place/places to be selected, topography and soil conditions, existence of water, the existing flora, socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions and such data shoud be obtained and decisions should be made accordingly [12, p. 38-50].

Planning is done in accordance with the data obtained. Considering the aesthetic principles with the ecological and systematic principles, the garden must be also prepared with a nice park appearance. There must be a good road circulation prepared in order to let the visitors walk around better. There must be sitting areas and resting areas on the main roads, there might be sightseeing terraces at the hills [17, p. 35].

A survey study was conducted for fulfilling these kinds of criteria and to plan a botanical garden in accordance with the requests of the visitors.

For survey studies, in order to minimize the costs for application for printing, posting, telephone and personnel, the survey can be applied to not to the whole mass, a smaller group who represent this mass can be selected. This subset or small group is named as “sample”. They are selected among a society that the members of are determined for filling the survey. One of the important rules is that the sampling must be completely created randomly. By this, the chances for everyone to participate is made equal. All results that are obtained from samples which are not created randomly will not reflect the real views of the mass [19, 1-20].

Survey questions prepared suitably for the SPSS programme and were created in order to find out the necessary structural elements and equipment by choosing the appropriate area usage were asked to randomly selected university students from various classes. First of all, botanical garden was defined and the information about survey was given to the participants. Questions were prepared in two types which are open ended and closed ended. Students who have responded to open ended questions with their own thoughts and wills & closed ended ones with the options provided to them were from the neighboring provinces to the Mus province and they knew the climate, expectations of the society and the living conditions of Mus well so that it was observed that they responded to questions realistically. Results of the survey were evaluated with the licensed SPSS programme and were transferred into graphs. Graphs were prepared as comparisons of 2 or 3 questions in order to let an easier evaluation to be done.

By relying on the all survey results, requests of the samplings about the area usage at the botanical garden to be planned and the expectations, the structural features and equipment that need to be present are provided below [10, p. 60]:

• Having an herbarium center and a library,
• Having greenhouses,
• Alive plants being sold,
• A place for visitors to take care of plants,
• A road for walks and running,
• An area to do sports,
• A cafй,
• Having guided tours,
• Botanical garden being located in a central place and transportation being easy,
• Having an aquatic environment (pond, pool etc.).

Some of the samplings have responded the survey questions in a negative way and stated these requests [10, p. 65]:

They did not want to provide plants from a botanical garden, they have not visited botanical gardens either in Turkey or abroad, they wanted botanical gardens to be at university campuses and out of the city, they did not care about the existence of walking and running paths, ones who wanted a herbarium center did not want a wedding saloon, they wanted the botanical garden to be far away and not free, they did not want to do sports, to have a wedding area, to grow plants, they did not want a guide, a mountainous area, park, aquatic environment or to spend time at the garden environment. These kinds of responses which were very similar were not taken into consideration since they were very few.

As a result of this survey, it was indicated that creating a botanical garden in Mus, keeping it active and open to public would meet the wants of the people to have green areas to be together with the nature, to get informed, to increase their culture level. Especially when it is a part of the university, a botanical garden would be a research and education area for the students and the academic personnel, and it will be possible to arrange public seminars and to impose nature love to the visitors.

 

References:

1. Aran, S. Basic Principles of Landscape Architecture, //Ankara University Press, Ankara.- 1977- p. 386.
2. Anonymous, ‘Survey Technique’, http://eski.bingol.edu.tr/-media/264540/15anket.pdf, -2018-Accessed: 11 February, 2021, 20:30
3. Demirkan, H and Uysal, F. [ A Survey Study to Menemen-Izmir Cotton Producers]  //Journal of Ege Univ. Faculty of Agriculture. -2011-48 (3): 277-282 pp.
4. Gulgun, B., Guney, M., A., Aktaş, E., Yazici, K. [Role of Landscape Architect in Interdıscıplinary Planing of Sustainable Cities]. // Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology -2014-15, No 4, 1877–1880 pp.
5. Ivahova, L.İ and S.S. Fesuk, S, V. S. Samoylov. Modern Earth Design // ‘Adelant’ Press, Arhangelsk,-2009- p. 384.
6. Karaşah, B. ‘Assessment of visual landscape preferences in botanic gardens: cases of Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanic Garden (İstanbul) and Royal Botanic Garden (Edinburgh), PhD Thesis, (unpublished) //Deptt. Of Landscape Architecture., Karadeniz Technical University. Trabzon 2014- p.60.
7. Karaşah, B. and Var M. N. ‘Determination of Visitor Preferences in Botanic Gardens ‘Case of Nezahat Gokyigit Botanic Garden’, //Kastamonu Univ., Journal of Forestry Faculty, -2016- 16 (1): 120-130 pp.
8. Kavuncu, O. ‘Sampling Methods’, http://www.orhankavuncu.com/index.php-/bilimselarastirmayontemleri/172-bolum-dort, -2016- Accessed: 11 February, 2021, 21:00
9. Kılıç, H. Researches on the Planning Possibilities of the Allotment Gardens, The Case Study of Izmir City, Master Thesis, (unpublished) //Deptt. Of Landscape Architecture., Ege University. 1995- p. 56
10. Muminoglu, Y. ‘The research about the feasibility of botanical garden in the Mus Alparslan University, PhD Thesis, (unpublished) //Deptt. Of Landscape Architecture., Ege University. İzmir. 2018- 60.,-139 pp.
11. Oğur, R. and Tekbaş, Ö. F. ‘How to Prepare a Survey’, http://www.ttb-.org.tr/STED/sted0903/anket, Accessed: -2003-10 February, -2021- 15:00
12. Ozkan, B. Urban Recreation Area Planning, //Ege. University. Faculty of Agriculture. Department of Landscape Architecture, Bornova- Izmir, 2001-15- 18, 38- 50 pp.
13. Özkan, B., Küçükerbaş, E., Kaplan, A., Hepcan, Ş., M.Yiğit, E and Sönmez, H. [ Muğla Kenti Kamusal Dış Mekânları Bağlamında Master Plan Çalışması] Ege University Press. Bornova- Izmir, -2003-3- 15 pp.
14. Powell, E.T. ‘Asking Questions with a purpose. Program development and Evaluation’, //University of Winconsin – Extension, Texas, 1998- 2-20 pp.
15. Sabis, ‘Araştırma Yöntemleri Örnekleme’, SABİS Sakarya University, http://content.lms.sabis-.sakarya.edu.tr/Uploads/50819/30912/5_%C3%B6rnekleme.ppt, Accessed: -2019-12 May 2019, 17:00
16. Sokolov, M. P. Botaniçeskiye Sadı Osnova İh Ustroystva i Planirovka. //İzdatelstvo Moskova Akademii Nauk SSSR, 1959- 53-68.
17. Tanrıverdi, F. (1987). Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bahçe Sanatının Temel İlkeleri ve Uygulama Metodları, Ataturk University Press, Erzurum, 1987 p. 35
18. Yazici, K. and Gulgun Aslan, B. The Effects of Ornamental Outdoor Plants in Open-Green Areas on the Quality of Life: The Example of Tokat City, //Journl of  Ege Univ. Faculty of Agriculture.-2017- 54 (3): 275-284.
19. Yunus. ‘Anket Hazırlama Kılavuzu’, http://yunus.hacettepe.-edu.tr/~tonta/courses/spring2009/bby606/.pdf, Accessed: -2018-18 May 2018, 16:00
20. Wiki, Descriptive Statistics http://www.wikiwand.com/tr/Betimsel_istatistik, Accessed: 11 February 2021, 18:00

 

Notes (Примечания)

Table 1.

Scientific Survey Study About the Botanical Garden

 

Table 2.

Survey Questions [10, p. 121 ] 

 

 

Table 3.

Statistics of Question 'Income Level' (Muminoglu, 2018) 

 

(1)

Figure 1. 'A Comparison of Receiving Education and Income Level' [10, p.121]

 

(2)	(3)
Figure 2. Results of Question 'Place of Birth'. (Muminoglu, 2018)	Figure 3. Results of the Question 'What is Happening In Your Mind When Said B. G (Muminoglu, 2018)

 

(4)	(5)
Figure 4. 'Your Expectations From the Botanical Garden' Results of Question [10, p.122]	Figure 5. Comparison of the Question ' Do You Have any Эnformation About Botanical Gardens In Other Cultures’ With the Question ‘Do You Have Visited B. G. in Turkey [10, p.123]

 

(6)	(7)
Figure 6. Comparison of the Question ‘Where Do you Want the B. G. to be Found in Mus’ With the Question ‘Would You Like to Opening B G. In Mus’ [10, p.125].	Figure 7. Comparison of the Question ‘What Would be the Эmpact of B. G. in to the Local. People’ With the Question of ‘How Often do You Have Visit if There is B. G’. [10, p.126].

 

(8 a)	(8 b)
Figure 8. (a). Comparison of Questions ‘Do You Spend Your Free Time in B.G’b Who Said ‘Yes’ With the Question ‘Did Эncrease Your the Presence of the Walk & Runway’ [10, p.128].	Figure 8. (b). Comparison of Questions ‘Do You Spend Your Free Time in B.G’ Who Said ‘No’ With Visit the Question ‘Did Эncrease Your Visit the Presence of the Walk & Runway’ [10, p.129].

 

(8 c)	(9 a)
Figure 8. (c) Comparison of Questions ‘Do You Spend Your Free Time in B.G’Who Said ‘Partially’ With the Question ‘Did Эncrease Your Visit the Presence of the Walk & Runway’ [10, p.129]	Figure 9. (a) Comparison of Question ‘Will Attract Your Эnterest the Herbarium Center in the B. G’ Who Said ‘Yes’ With the Question ‘Эf There is a Cafe in B. G’, What Would You Like to Be in the B. G’ [10, p.131]

 

(9 b)	(10)
Figure 9. (b) Comparison of Question ‘Will Attract Your Эnterest the Herbarium Center in the B. G’ Who Said ‘No’ With the Question Эf There is a Cafe in B. G’, What Would You Like To Be in the B. G’ [10, p.132]	Figure 10. Will it Reduce Your Visit if the B. G. Has an Entrance Free.’ With the Question ‘Would You Still Go if the Botanical Garden is Far From the City’ [10, p.133]

 

(11 a)	(11 b)
Figure 11. (a) Comparison the Question Do You Want to Buy Plants From B.G’ Who Said ‘Yes’, With the Questions ‘Are You Growing Plants’ and ‘Where Are You Growing Эt?’ [10, p.134]	Figure 11. (b) Comparison the Question ‘Do You Want to Buy Plants From B.G’ Who Said ‘No’ With the Questions ‘Are You Growing Plants’ and ‘Where Are You Growing Эt’ [10, p.135]

 

(11 c)	(12)
Figure11. (c) Comparison the Question ‘Do You Want to Buy Plants From B.G’ Who Said ‘Partially’ With the Questions ‘Are You Growing Plants’  and ‘Where Are You Growing Эt?’ [10, p.136]	Figure 12. Comparison the Question ‘What With the Vuestion ‘Did You Will Recommend in Kind of Activities Would You Like to Have in B. G’ to Your Surroundings if B.G Have a Wedding Area’ [10, p.136]

 

(13)	(14)
Figure 13. Comparison of Question ‘Do You Want to be a Volunteer in the B.G’ With The Question ‘Would You Like to Have Эnformation Guide in B. G.’ [10, p.137]	Figure 14. Comparison of Question ‘Will You Recommend in to Your Relatives to Visit B.G’ With the Question ‘Do You Get Your Children’ [10, p.138]

 

(15)

Figure 15. Comparison of Question 'Do You Care About the Esteem of Your Neighborhood' With the Question 'Where Do You Prefer to Rest' [10, p.139]