Priority Projects – Our focus
Since 2023 the Rottnest Foundation has been working in partnership with the RIA on our Priority Projects; five initiatives focused on conserving the environmental, cultural and heritage assets that make Rottnest Island so unique.
We consider the Wadjemup Conservation Centre, the Bickley Military Precinct and the Boodja Kaartdijin to be our Visionary Projects. With each project set to transform Wadjemup by creating important education and knowledge hubs to enlighten visitors to the island.
Wadjemup Conservation Centre will be a world class facility dedicated to fostering an understanding of the island’s unique environmental ecosystems and conservation challenges.
Bickley Military Precinct will be an accessible and interactive precinct, connecting WWII Bickley Battery structures to a state-of-the-art Defence Museum, conserving the unique military heritage of Wadjemup.
The Boodja Kaartdijin will be a trail of interpretive installations that invite visitors to experience and learn more about the rich cultural connection and knowledge of the Whadjuk Noongar people.
Each project is comprehensive and is dedicated to meeting the highest quality conservation, restoration and education outcomes, meaning each project has significant funding requirements. Funding the Rottnest Foundation is committed to securing.
In the next 12-months, the Rottnest Foundation will be focusing its efforts on raising awareness of and funding for the Coastal Defence Museum, a key part of the Bickley Military Precinct Project. The Defence Museum will be housed in the converted and restored DID Shed which lies on the train line to the Oliver Hill Guns. The Museum will conserve the important military history of Rottnest and provide an interactive learning experience for visitors to the island. With the Bickley buildings in various states of repair, this project has some time critical conservation needs.
The Rottnest Foundation will continue to support our Ongoing Projects; the Woodlands Restoration and Expansion Project and the Wadjemup Bidi Walk Trail. For the Woodlands Project, we have committed to donate $50,000 to the RIA annually, over the next three years, to fund propagation and planting activities, and our member and corporate volunteers have made an extraordinary contribution to the 2025 planting season. Our aim for the future is to continue to grow our funding and volunteering and deliver even greater conservation outcomes for both of these projects into the future.