A new five-year management plan has set out an ambitious conservation and community agenda for Perth’s ‘sanctuary by the sea’ – Bold Park.
The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA) is this week publishing the new Bold Park Management Plan 2022-27 after a period of extensive public consultation.
The plan is putting 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.
The plan outlines 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.
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 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.
Find out more at https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/about-us/information/news/2978-bold-park-management-plan-22-27
As stated by Environment Minister Reece Whitby:
“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.”
