# 1. Overview: What Is the Innovation Garden?

The iLEAD Innovation Garden is the **practice-facing pillar** of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN). It is a collaborative space where educators, designers, technologists, artists, and community practitioners develop immersive learning experiences, refine applied methods, and contribute practice-based evidence to the global field.

The Garden exists to:

- Support hands-on design, prototyping, and iteration
- Surface emergent cross-platform practices
- Provide tutorials, walkthroughs, and design examples
- Create a welcoming pathway for new practitioners
- Generate experiential contributions for the annual iLRN conference
- Feed validated practices into the Knowledge Tree and the iLRN Repository

Through these activities, the Innovation Garden serves as a **living ecosystem** where ideas are explored, strengthened, and shared. It provides an accessible entry point into the iLRN community while supporting the growth of immersive learning as a global, evidence-informed discipline.