2019 was Australia’s hottest and driest year on record and ended in the Black Summer Bushfires. Alarmingly, four years later, 2023, was the world’s hottest year on record. Knowing what action to take about a heating planet can be daunting. Numerous studies show trees reduce temperatures. So, by selecting the right trees coupled with appropriate maintenance, we can adapt to a hotter future. This might mean planting shade trees in your garden, growing a home microforest or starting a community microforest in your local park. Urban areas are typically hotter than the countryside. That’s because w ..read more

When you think of a forest, you probably think of trees. Whilst trees are essential to a forest, other plants layers are important too. These layers include shrubs, climbers and groundcovers. If you look closely at a forest, you will notice a myriad of plants jumbled together. These plants are randomly spaced and compete for light, nutrients and water. And plants occur at a range of different heights, some have just germinated, some have died and some are in their prime. Micro-forests popping up in Canberra The Climate Factory works with community leaders to build climate cooling micro or tiny ..read more

After hearing a radio interview about Canberra’s fledgling micro-forests, Jennifer Bardsley started the Holt Micro-forest initiative. Supported by a group of keen residents they got cracking. Guided by Jennifer, they visited potential sites and created social media accounts to spread the word. Together they raised $25,000 in a crowdfunding campaign which was topped up with grants. In 2022, they planted the 1500 plant micro-forest and also created a food forest. Jennifer at home with the youngest family member. Photo: supplied The Climate Factory chats with Jennifer about her busy family life a ..read more

Moruya is a small New South Wales town. It’s nestled between coast and hills and is home to the Yuin nation. In 2016, inspired by the mild climate, my partner and I bought land at the town’s edge. Our plan was to build our first home and garden together. Little did I know that one day I would make a micro-forest in our newly adopted town. Micro-forest projects start in Canberra I’d spent the last 30 years living and working in Canberra. I knew the local plant communities of the nation’s capital well. In 2019, after experiencing the hottest and driest year on record I started The Climate Factor ..read more

Simple analysis of micro-forest costs How much does it cost to build a micro-forest? From a simple accounting perspective, a micro-forest costs around $500 per square metre. This figure is based on the first micro-forest we built in Downer, ACT. Our budget was $40,000 budget with an area of 800 square metre. At one online-workshop one participant (I suspect an economist or accountant) commented that the micro-forest very expensive exercise. They used simple maths dividing the total cost by the number of trees (1800). Using this method it costs $22 per tree. But this method is too simple. It ig ..read more

Moruya is a small New South Wales town. It’s nestled between coast and hills and is home to the Yuin nation. In 2016, inspired by the mild climate, my partner and I bought land at the town’s edge. Our plan was to build our first home and garden together. Little did I know that one day I would make a micro-forest in our newly adopted town. Micro-forest projects start in Canberra I’d spent the last 30 years living and working in Canberra. I knew the local plant communities of the nation’s capital well. In 2019, after experiencing the hottest and driest year on record I started The Climate Factor ..read more

One of the best things about creating a micro-forest is working with community leaders. Over 2020-222 I’ve collaborated with four women who wanted to make a difference in their local community. Qualities of community micro-forest leaders Research shows there’s at least 10 qualities of community leaders. Leaders tend to be smart, empathetic, self-aware and motivated. I want to shine the spotlight on some of the women I’ve collaborated to make the Watson and Holt Micro-forests. They have shown me the importance of building a team. They inspired me when I felt lacklustre. Together we are creating ..read more

Moruya is a small regional New South Wales town, nestled between coast and hills. In 2016, my partner and I bought land in the town to build our first home and garden. As a landscape architect I was excited to experiment with plants I couldn’t grow in Canberra. Canberra’s Micro-forests I’d spent the last 30 years living and working in Canberra. There I knew the local plant communities well. In 2019, after experiencing the hottest and driest year on record I started the social enterprise,The Climate Factory. The goal was to build dense native plant pockets or micro-forests in public spaces to c ..read more

When you think of a forest, you probably think of trees. Whilst trees are essential to a forest, other plants layers are important too. These layers include shrubs, climbers and groundcovers. If you look closely at a forest, you will notice plants jumbled together. These plants are randomly spaced and compete for light, nutrients and water. And plants are a range of different heights, some have just germinated, some have died and some are in their prime. Tiny forests popping up in Canberra The Climate Factory works with community leaders to build climate cooling micro or tiny forests. Over 202 ..read more

On a 2000 square metre block in Moruya, NSW, I’ve been exploring growing different types of vegetation. As well as traditional shrub beds, mown grass, vegetable gardens, water harvesting ponds and a large outdoor courtyard I’ve planted a micro-forest and a Food forest. Micro-forests cool the landscape In 2019, I created pilot urban landscape project, called the Downer micro-forest. The pilot used dense planting, climate-ready trees and provides a cool space for the public to enjoy. The Federal Labor Member for Canberra, Alicia Payne cottoned on to the idea. She invited the Molonglo Conservatio ..read more