FloraCultures: Conserving Perth's Botanical Heritage Through a Digital Repository

Abstract

FloraCultures is a 2013 pilot project in development with Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth, Western Australia, and funded by Edith Cowan University's Early Career Researcher grant scheme. The project aims to develop a model for documenting the plant-based cultural heritage of 30-50 indigenous species occurring in the Kings Park bushland (Figure 1). The FloraCultures initiative (www.FloraCultures.org.au) integrates archival and digital design techniques, creating a unique web portal of potential interest to a range of users- from first-time tourists and amateur naturalists to heritage consultants and environmental conservationists (Figure 2). The initiative reflects the belief that research into environmental heritage (defined broadly to encompass natural and cultural heritage and tangible and intangible theory) is integral to the conservation of flora and fauna in their ecological habitats. The project stresses that the appreciation of biodiversity for its cultural significance helps to sustain broader conservation values.