The Royal Horticultural Society: Visitor Experience Evaluation
Background & Context
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) commissioned M·E·L Research to evaluate its Brick Explorers wildlife trails. The initiative saw five RHS Gardens host trails featuring ten brick-built sculptures depicting plants, insects, fungi and other wildlife. The trails combined the sculptures with interpretation about wildlife and nature, information about how the models had been constructed, activity booklets and Brick Builders sessions where visitors could create their own nature-related models.
RHS wanted to understand the visitor experience of Brick Explorers: how people interacted with the trail and its different components, what visitors took away from the experience, and what lessons could be applied to future initiatives. The evaluation particularly considered the extent to which Brick Explorers contributed to two RHS outcomes: Enjoyment and Delight, centred on visitors experiencing joy, fun, curiosity and pleasure; and Learning and Inspiration, focused on gaining knowledge, skills and inspiration around gardening and horticulture.
The research needed to capture the experience as it happened rather than relying solely on visitors’ retrospective accounts. This was particularly important because Brick Explorers attracted a mixture of audiences, including parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, wider intergenerational groups and adult-only visitors. Some people had specifically visited because of Brick Explorers, while others encountered the sculptures as part of a wider visit to an RHS Garden.
Approach
M·E·L Research used an ethnographic approach, combining direct observation of visitor behaviour with short, semi-structured interviews. Fieldwork took place over four days across three contrasting RHS Gardens: RHS Harlow Carr, RHS Bridgewater and RHS Wisley. This enabled the research to explore both visitors’ reported experiences and their actual behaviour as they encountered sculptures, interpretation, activity materials and Brick Builders sessions.
The research comprised two complementary strands:
Visitor vox pops – 53 interviews:
M·E·L Research’s researchers conducted short, semi-structured interviews with 53 visitors across the three gardens. Interviews explored visitors’ awareness of Brick Explorers, whether it had influenced their decision to visit, their reactions to the sculptures and supporting activities, what they had learned, their experience of navigating the trail and opportunities for improvement. The interviews captured perspectives from the different visitor groups using the gardens, with families with children making up the majority of respondents.
Ethnographic observations – 106 observations:
Researchers conducted 106 observations at different points along the trails. These examined how visitors interacted with the sculptures, interpretation boards, Brick Explorers booklets and Brick Builders activities. Researchers considered behaviours including dwell time, conversations, photography, completion of activities and interaction with interpretation. Observations covered adult-only groups, parents with children, grandparents with children and groups containing grandparents, parents and children.
A structured framework was used to categorise observed engagement as high, medium or low. High engagement included behaviours such as sustained interaction with sculptures and interpretation, completing booklet activities and adding stickers, conversations focused on the sculptures, taking photographs and dedicated play within Brick Builders sessions. Medium engagement represented shorter or less sustained interactions, while low engagement captured minimal interaction and short dwell times. Across the observations, 60% of visitors were classified as showing high engagement, 25% medium engagement and 16% low engagement.
The approach also allowed M·E·L Research to investigate differences between sites and identify the influence of the physical environment. Researchers considered factors such as sculpture size and positioning, available space, walking distances, signage, mapping and seating, providing RHS with practical evidence about how the design and operation of a trail affected visitor engagement.
Analysis and Outputs
M·E·L Research brought together evidence from the interviews and structured observations to assess the visitor experience and identify recurring themes. The analysis considered motivations for visiting, interaction with the sculptures and supporting materials, learning, family interaction, navigation and wayfinding, the Brick Builders offer and differences between the three gardens.
Evidence was also assessed against RHS’s Enjoyment and Delight and Learning and Inspiration outcomes. M·E·L Research applied an outcome scorecard using three evidence levels – Considerable Evidence, Adequate Evidence and Insufficient Evidence – based on the strength of qualitative evidence that each intended outcome had been achieved.
The evaluation found considerable evidence of Enjoyment and Delight at all three gardens, alongside adequate evidence of Learning and Inspiration. Brick Explorers provided an engaging family activity, with sculptures generating excitement and conversation among different generations. Activity booklets were particularly strongly engaged with by younger visitors, while the Brick Builders sessions provided an additional opportunity for both independent and collaborative creative play. The research also demonstrated learning: visitors recalled both construction statistics and facts about wildlife and nature, although observations indicated that children were often more immediately engaged by statistics such as the number of bricks and build hours than by longer nature interpretation.
The evaluation generated practical recommendations rather than simply measuring whether the initiative had been successful. M·E·L Research identified opportunities to make nature and wildlife interpretation more accessible to younger children through shorter, focused information; incorporate trail maps into Brick Explorers booklets; improve directional signage; sustain children’s engagement during longer walks between sculptures; provide adequate seating; and position future sculptures in immersive, spacious locations where possible.
The findings were delivered to RHS through a PowerPoint research report, combining an executive summary, detailed analysis, verbatim visitor feedback, site-level findings, an outcome scorecard, conclusions and actionable recommendations. The report provided both an overall assessment and specific findings for RHS Harlow Carr, RHS Bridgewater and RHS Wisley, enabling RHS to understand what had worked across the programme while also identifying practical improvements relevant to individual gardens.
Overall, the research gave RHS evidence that Brick Explorers had successfully created an accessible and interactive visitor experience. It also showed how the combination of sculptures, activity materials and Brick Builders encouraged family interaction and offered visitors a different way to explore RHS Gardens. Importantly, M·E·L Research’s observational approach identified practical aspects of the visitor journey – including mapping, wayfinding, interpretation, seating and sculpture placement – that could inform the design of future trails and help RHS maximise both enjoyment and learning.
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