Introducing Tiny Forests

Tiny Forests: The next green step for business 

Tiny Forests are your corporate leadership billboard in action against climate change and biodiversity loss. Businesses can address their CSR and ESG requirements and empower employees to connect with nature by becoming a Tiny Forest partner. Earthwatch is uniquely positioned to support businesses with their responses to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For decades, we’ve worked with well-known companies around the world from a diverse array of sectors to foster environmental leadership and build a more sustainable future.  

Join the movement and donate to invest in the Tiny Forest program. 6 Tiny Forests will engage and empower 1000 people to protect nature.  

We have various partnership and funding options to help you establish a Tiny Forest - Get in touch to find out how you can get involved, or see our FAQ to learn more. 

Earthwatch is currently building a pipeline of available Tiny Forest sites; and councils, schools and property developers are in the unique position of having that intersection between land and community engagement.
Tiny Forests serve as inspiring outdoor learning classrooms for communities, who will be engaged in the planting, maintaining and ongoing scientific monitoring of the forests, to quantify the benefits they provide. By actively partaking in the success of the forest, communities appreciate the true value of trees and biodiversity, creating stewards for their ongoing conservation. 

To understand more about how the program works, and the site requirements, please read our handbook

Tiny Forest Handbook

Help care for a Tiny Forest in your local area. Opportunities range from surveying and collecting data, to maintaining the forest. At this stage, volunteer opportunities are limited, but will grow as our network of Tiny Forests grow

Sustained urban land clearing in Australia has resulted in habitat fragmentation, species extinction, biodiversity loss and rising temperatures. Nevertheless, research shows that our cities hold substantially more threatened species (per unit area) than rural areas.

The decline of green canopy also means Australian city dwellers face a much hotter future. Major heatwaves are Australia’s deadliest natural hazards, particularly for cities, with a lack of trees causing “heat islands”. With 68% of Australia’s population predicted to live in cities by 2050, our cities may soon become unliveable.

There is an urgent need to increase nature-based solutions for urban resilience, including engaging and educating the community in understanding the true value of biodiversity, and how individuals can play an important role in contributing to the urban forest.

Tiny Forests will be established following a particular planting method, called the Miyawaki method, including adaptions of the method to suit the Australian context and local site conditions.

The Miyawaki method was first developed in the 1970s by Dr Akira Miyawaki, and it is a particularly valuable method for urban greening. Small patches of land, about the size of a tennis court, are first prepared through soil testing and enrichment by using additives such as compost, coconut coir and chopped straw. A vegetation assessment ensures only indigenous species are selected, with the aim for as high diversity as possible. Planting occurs at much higher density than traditional forests, at about 3-5 plants per m2. The combination of soil enrichment and a dense planting structure results in accelerated growth, about 10 times faster than traditional forests. As the forest establishes and thickens, biodiversity levels rapidly increase, and the maintenance requirements decrease.

Through structured and facilitated citizen science days, data will be collected in the following areas to help understand the benefits of the planting methodology:

• Biodiversity (pollinators and ground dwellers),
• Soil moisture, and soil texture
• Growth rate and carbon content
• Thermal comfort
• Feedback and wellbeing survey