Partners: Worn Gundidj Nursery, Merrivale Primary School, Emmanuel College, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation & Warrnambool City Council.

Urban Pocket Forest | Warrnambool Community Garden

GreenPrint Projects helped to develop a 600 m² Urban Pocket Forest at Warrnambool Community Garden, with the site planned and mapped by Anthea in collaboration with Merrivale Primary School Grade 6 students.

The project applied the Miyawaki method to create a dense and diverse native planting designed to increase biodiversity and support rapid establishment.

Two community planting days brought together more than 64 participants aged from 3 to 83, who collectively planted more than 1,300 trees, shrubs and flowering plants.

Learning came to life during an Immersion Day at Warrnambool Community Garden, where more than 50 Year 9 students and staff from Emmanuel College explored the connections between nature, creativity and environmental action. Throughout the half-day excursion, students participated in four hands-on workshops, exploring the site, planting seed-grown trees and shrubs for the pocket forest, creating recycled pots and producing nature-inspired artworks.

A key outcome was the opportunity to trial the Miyawaki method at a community scale.