What is a Microforest?

A dense, native forest. The size of a tennis court. Built by your community.

A microforest is a small area of land planted at high density with native trees, shrubs and groundcovers - designed to grow fast, cool the surrounding area, and create habitat for birds, insects and wildlife.

They're typically between 200 and 500 square metres. The smallest fit in a large school courtyard. The largest might transform a neighbourhood park.

They grow fast.

The planting method - known as the Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki - plants natives at three to four per square metre, which forces rapid upward growth as plants compete for light. At Downer in Canberra, some silver wattles planted as small seedlings reached three metres tall within seven months. In Queanbeyan some trees had reached over five meters in two years,

They bring people together.

Every microforest in our network was built by ordinary people - parents, teachers, neighbours - who organised their community, ran a crowdfunding campaign, and showed up on planting day with shovels.

The planting day is usually the moment everything shifts. A hundred people, including kids, putting trees in the ground together. Six months later the same people are walking past something they built.

Over 9,000 native plants are now in the ground across our projects. Every one was planted by hand.

Our two types of microforest.

Not every site or leader is the same. We support two types of microforest depending on your site, your team and what you want to build.

Learning Microforest — lighter, faster, school-focused Around 500 plants on 100–200m².

Designed for school grounds or small public sites. Templated process, two to three months from decision to planting day. Ideal for a principal, teacher or school parent with an energetic co-lead.

Signature Microforest — deeper, larger, community-transforming Around 1,500 plants on 300–500m².

Full co-design process, water harvesting, landscape architect involvement. Twelve to eighteen months. Designed to become a neighbourhood landmark for decades.

What makes a good site?

Not every patch of land works. The best sites share a few things in common:

• Public land - a park, school ground, or council reserve
• High pedestrian traffic - people walk past or through it regularly
• Near a playground, path or gathering point
• Full sun for most of the day
• No overhead powerlines or underground services in the planting zone
• Water access nearby for the first two years of establishment

Ready to lead one?

Most leaders had never done anything like this before they started. What they had was a park they cared about and a few people willing to help.