Our oceans are changing fast – and in unpredictable ways. But every human being on earth depends on our oceans’ health.
We rely on oceans for our oxygen, to moderate our temperature, and they are our biggest source of food. And yet, the health of our oceans is not guaranteed. There are severe threats to oceans that are already having a negative effect - entire marine ecosystems are rapidly changing. And as we know, those threats are increasing, not decreasing.
The Western Australian Museum is a leading authority on our marine heritage and biology including our archaeology, biodiversity and aquatic zoology. The WA Museum is a pioneer in the research and exploration of our oceans –
measuring and documenting changes, understanding the speed and impact of the changes, and adding vital knowledge to inform and educate the people of WA and the world.
Through extensive laboratory and field work, the WA Museum has discovered, named and published both new living species and marine fossils. Shipwrecks from our distant history have been investigated, and treasures both natural and manmade have been added to museum collections and exhibits.
Explore some of the work made possible by the Foundation for the WA Museum.
The Marine Sustainability Fund and the Foundation for the WA Museum exist to support the foremost custodian of Western Australia’s oceans - the WA Museum.
Managed by the Foundation’s highly experienced Investment Committee, the fund is a self-sustaining and permanent source of finance through annual grants to the Museum. The fund will function as a true endowment and provide sustainable funding - it will never be exhausted and will grow over time to keep pace with rising costs and needs. Through the establishment of this robust fund, the Foundation can support vital WA Museum marine initiatives in perpetuity.
The Foundation, the Fund, and you.
The Foundation for the WA Museum is grateful for every donation. Your gifts from $1 to $100,000 make an important impact on the work of the WA Museum.
For gifts of $100,000+, your donation enables you to support bespoke aspects of the WA Museum's marine programs, and follow your passion for marine archaeology, marine biodiversity, aquatic zoology or maritime history.
Contact Catherine Noonan, Philanthropy Manager, on foundation@fwam.com.au to find out more about the impact you can make as a major contributor to the Marine Sustainability Fund.
Key priorities and initiatives
Several projects and initiatives have been scoped by the WA Museum for support over the coming years. Recent Foundation-supported marine and ocean focused initiatives include:
Identifying new sea star species
One of the world’s leading experts on sea stars visited the WA Museum to investigate the Museum’s sea star (Asteroidea) collection.
Exciting new discoveries in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands
A field trip conducting a faunal and maritime archaeological survey of the Houtman Abrolhos.
WA's first coastal steamship
A gallery exploring the amazing story of Western Australia’s first coastal steamship.
Searching for missing shipwrecks
An aerial magnetometer survey of two remote sites in search of the Trial and SS Koombana wreck sites.
"Working behind the scenes, mainly at our Collections and Research Centre in Welshpool, is a team of scientists who are charting the biodiversity of our enormous state and the extensive seas around it. “What are those people in Welshpool doing?” I am regularly asked, “Saving the World”, I reply, and I mean it"
