Kings Park celebrates Botanic Gardens Week

As the Western Australian Botanic Garden celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025, there’s no better time to acknowledge its enduring contribution to these efforts. 

Botanic gardens are more than beautiful destinations—they are living laboratories where rare and threatened species are safeguarded for future generations. They are also places of learning and discovery, where people can connect with nature and gain a deeper understanding of the natural world. This Botanic Gardens Week, we reflect on how these essential institutions are like 'zoos for plants'. Just as zoos conserve, educate, and connect people to animals, botanic gardens do the same for plants. 

While zoos protect endangered animals, botanic gardens protect the world’s rare and threatened plant species. With more than 100 threatened ecological communities in Western Australia, there is a pressing need to increase conservation capacity and take urgent action. 

The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA) are actively studying Western Australian plant species to inform conservation and restoration practises. This research provides crucial knowledge that helps us improve their chances of survival in a changing world. 

Western Australia is home to over 430 threatened plant species. The WA Botanic Garden plays a critical role in their conservation by maintaining an important ex situ collection—acting as a genetic lifeline for species that may be at risk in their natural habitats. 

We are continually expanding our ex-situ conservation efforts. Beyond the garden’s living collections, seeds are stored in the WA Seed Bank, plant cuttings are preserved through tissue culture, and material is kept in cryogenic storage to conserve the genetic diversity of WA native flora. 

Scientific discoveries made at Kings Park have influenced conservation practices not only across Western Australia, but around the world. Behind the scenes, our team of expert scientists and horticulturists continues to lead research in plant conservation, species translocation, restoration of degraded ecosystems, management of urban bushland, and the sustainable use of native flora. 

This Botanic Gardens Week, a walk through the WA Botanic Garden is a great way to learn more about the important role this iconic destination plays in ex situ conservation and advocacy.  

Or take a more active role by participating in one of the following events at Kings Park: 

• Friends of Kings Park Native Plant Sale – turn your home garden or urban space into your own ex situ collection by picking up a rare WA plant at an affordable price. Sunday 25th May, 9am-12.30pm. Free entry; more info.
• Native Botany – Proteaceae Family 101 – learn more about the unique adaptations of Banksia, Hakea, Grevillea and more at this seminar hosted by Kings Park’s Herbarium botanist. Sunday 25th May, 10am-12pm. Tickets $32.
• A Walk Through WA – Join the Kings Park Volunteer Guides for a guided walk through the WA Botanic Garden, exploring the botanical wonders of our state. Sunday 25th May, 11am-12.30pm. Tickets $10