New management plan published for Perth’s ‘sanctuary by the sea’

Western Australia’s Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority has published a new five-year management plan for Perth’s Bold Park - setting out an ambitious conservation and community agenda for the city’s 'sanctuary by the sea'.

Declared a Class A reserve in 1998 for its high conservation, landscape and recreation values, and covering 442 hectares in Perth's west, Bold Park is one of the largest remnants of original bushland in the urban area of the Swan Coastal Plain, not far from the coast.

The new Bold Park Management Plan 2022-27 was published following a period of extensive public consultation and puts community at the heart of the park's development, with a focus on visitor experience, community engagement and amenity and infrastructure.

Planning for a new community conservation hub at the Bold Park Ecology Centre will be informed through an inclusive community co-design process. The conservation hub concept seeks to support and enhance valuable partnerships with community groups and not-for-profit organisations working to conserve and interpret protected areas, such as Bold Park.

Released in the past week, the plan outlines Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA)'s renewed commitment to working with Traditional Owners to deepen the community's understanding of the cultural and historical significance of Bold Park.

The Whadjuk Noongar people have lived in the area for tens of thousands of years and maintain a strong and continuing cultural connection to Bold Park. BGPA supports the awareness and recognition that for millennia, the area has provided plants, animals and resources for food, shelter, clothing, medicine and implements.

The biodiversity of Bold Park makes it an important community asset, with a wide range of native and non-native species of flora, fauna and fungi identified. Over 300 different local native plants are found within the park boundaries, including a number of priority and regionally significant species.

Western Australian Environment Minister Reece Whitby notes "the vision for Bold Park is to be identified as a world-class urban wilderness, to be enjoyed, studied and managed with the community, for the benefit of all.

"By maintaining its strong focus on conservation activities, education programs, restoration work and scientific research, BGPA will continue to conserve and enhance Bold Park for future generations."

A copy of the Bold Park Management Plan 2022-2027 can be viewed or downloaded