LAND MANAGEMENT & PLANNING

ROTTNEST ISLAND (WADJEMUP) COASTAL WALK TRAIL

Rottnest Island is one of Western Australia’s tourism icons, encompassing a rare and complex range of cultural and environmental landscape values, including significant Aboriginal cultural values. 

The design intent of the interpretive walking trail is to establish a relationship between the environment and its multiple histories so that visitors can develop an appreciation and understanding of the cross-cultural values of the land. 

Landscape Principles in Practice:

• Value Our Landscape:  Critical to the success of the project is an appreciation of indigenous knowledge systems and understandings of landscape.  A cross-cultural participatory approach to landscape planning was crucial to interpreting the new and old cultural and natural dynamics of the Island, in order to appropriately value and respect significant Aboriginal cultural connections with the landscape. 
• Protect – Enhance – Regenerate:  The decision-making hierarchy employed in the project highlighted understanding that for Aboriginal people, nature and culture are not separate.  Responsibility for land management is intertwined with traditional ownership.  For this project, the location of the trail reveals the meaning of the landscape, and its placement becomes the catalyst for future interpretation of the landscape by the visitor.  The Rottnest Island Authority intends that the collaboration with the Island’s Indigenous custodians will carry through from the planning stages of the project into future construction, management and interpretation strategies.
• Design with Respect: The planning of the trail system improves biodiversity by addressing coastal risk and processes, converting existing tracks into managed trails, and protecting remnant vegetation and habitats. The location of the trail becomes a catalyst for education about the specific local ecologies and their cultural values, engendering a greater respect for landscape.
• Design for the Future:  This model of inclusive landscape planning across cultures makes an important contribution to sustainable environmental design understanding because respect for Indigenous cultures is essential to responsible design and appreciation of the landscape. The planning document will be used by the Rottnest Island Authority to secure funding and guide future land planning and interpretation on the Island.
• Embrace Responsive Design:  The planning process for the walk trail has identified locations and sequence of experiences that allows the Island to be experienced as a unified whole across cultures, supporting social and intergenerational equity and enhancing environmental resilience. 

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