The Heritage Values of Anstey-Keane Bush Forever Site: A Personal Reflection

Abstract

Botanically diverse places, such as Anstey-Keane Damplands in the southern suburbs of Perth, have diverse natural and cultural heritage values. My hope is that we can identify and leverage these different heritage values in our conservation efforts, as proponents of the Bush Forever program and as advocates of Western Australian flora and fauna. Since coming to Perth in 2008, I've developed a keen interest in the cultural significance of South-West flora, inspired initially by reading George Seddon's books Sense of Place, Landprints and The Old Country. As a plant enthusiast (rather than a botanist), I came from the northeastern United States where I was involved in rare and endangered flora conservation. And when I say cultural, I don't mean plant propagation (as in the culturing of plants), but rather the occurrence of South-West plant species in literature, art, explorers' accounts, settler diaries, community memories and other expressions of the past and present (as in the culturing of culture through plants).