MICROFOREST MAKER - build your confidence to design a microforest or tiny forest

Native climate-cooling microforests are one of the best ways to deal with heatwaves and climate despair.

A densely planted microforest will cool the landscape, provide habitat, bring community together and create hope for the future. 

This introductory presentation will give landscape professionals, students and homeowners insights into the design of microforest or tiny forests.

The 30 minute lunchtime session is led by Founder and Landscape Architect, Edwina Robinson. Edwina has worked with communities to build five microforests in public spaces in Australia since 2020 and made two microforests at home in Moruya. 

Edwina is a TEDx speaker and taught landscape design at the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology. She wants to inspire other landscape professionals to integrate microforests with water harvesting to future proof landscapes. 

What we cover in our session together. 

Miyawaki method

• What is the Miyawaki method? How is Japan different from Australia?
• Pure Miyawaki Method vs Hybrid or Miyawaki-inspired method
• What makes The Climate Factory’s microforests unique?
• Examples of public microforests 
• Examples of home microforests

Future climate

• What’s your climate likely to be like in the future?

Water harvesting

• Will you incorporate water harvesting? This depends on your location and future climate scenarios. We typically include 40 lineal metres of water harvesting trenches average 800mm deep and dry creek beds. 
• Water harvesting resources

Site Selection

• How to choose a site – tenure, flat vs steep, trees vs no trees
• Before you dig enquiry

Strict Miyawaki or Miyawaki with a twist?

Will you replicate a local forest community or will you create a hybrid model? Example: Compare Moruya Dry Rainforest threatened ecological community vs Watson Microforest (hybrid Miyawaki using trees likely to cope in a hotter drier future).

Plant Numbers

• How many plants will you design for? We typically design for 1500 native plants from a range of structural categories at 3 plants per sqm

Two of our Canberra microforests featured on ABC Gardening Australia in 2023.

Questions

Email your questions prior to the presentation to climatefactoryaus@gmail.com. I will endeavour to answer these questions during the workshop.