The Groundswell Collective

Keen to help plant a new tiny forest. Why not join us Sunday Nov, 3 at Cedar Brush Creek.

Some lovely news coverage of our Little Hill Grove Tiny Forest Community Planting Day.

What an incredible opportunity it was to showcase our work on the international stage at the #Miyawaki Forests and Urban Forest Symposium in Yokohama, Japan. Thanks to the G20 Global Land Initiative and Morino project.

With the Miyawaki/Tiny Forest movement still relatively young in Australia, it’s been incredible to see firsthand how these self-sufficient ecosystems evolve over time. During Anna’s visit to Yokohama National University, she had the opportunity to observe some of the first forests ever planted using this method.

🎥 We're just put the finishes touches on the St Paul’s Primary School, Gateshead Tiny Forest and are excited to share our planting day video! This project brought together students, teachers, and the broader community to celebrate the connections between art, culture, nature, and community. We hope you enjoy watching people come together to crest lasting impact, as much as we enjoyed creating it. #TinyForest #Community #GreenSpaces #ArtInNature #Sustainability #EnvironmentalEducation #NatureAndCulture

We’re continuing our efforts to deliver projects which highlight the importance of #art, #culture, #nature and #community and our proud to introduce ‘Bintelong’ (Awabakal for Blue-faced Honeyeater), the bird totem of St Paul's Primary School, Gateshead. This beautiful sculptural piece, locally crafted by the talented Kelly-Ann Lees, draws inspiration from the work of Aunty Laurel Williams. It will feature in the upcoming St Paul’s, Primary School, Gateshead Tiny Forest. St Paul’s Primary School, Gateshead, is a proud member of the ‘Powaikaliko (Grow) Malang (Together)’ Catholic Community of Schools, which includes six local schools within the Minimbah Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) footprint 👣 . Each school has been assigned a unique Australian bird totem. As part of the upcoming Tiny Forest project, we are thrilled to feature six special story poles, each painted by students from the various Catholic schools, designed and supported by the talented Danielle Peachey, showcasing their individual bird totems. We absolutely love these pieces and hope the school community does too 🥰 Now all that’s left to do is add the native plants- which is happening this Friday 🌳 This project was funded by the Hatch: Taronga Accelerator Program - Thank you! 👏🏻 Drew Ashworth, MBA #lakemactinyforests #rapidregeneration

People often ask if our logo represents tree rings or fingerprints. Honestly, it doesn’t matter – we are nature. But for the really curious, it’s tree rings! Three rings symbolising three directors. Pretty meaningful, right? We are always grateful to Anna Scobie for her insightful logo design and ongoing support 🥰🌳🙎🏻♀️🙎🏻♀️🙎🏻

Tocal Tiny Forest is well underway. 1055 native tree and shrub species will be planted here next week assisting with providing habitat to local biodiversity and improving this parcel of dairy farmland.

Did you know? 🐸 Frogs are one of the most threatened animal groups globally, with more than one-third of frog species considered at risk of extinction. 🐸 The decline of frogs is often an early warning sign of environmental damage because they serve as important environmental indicators of ecosystem health. 🐸 Frogs play a crucial role in the food web by controlling insect populations, such as mosquitoes, flies, and spiders. They are also an essential food source for native birds, lizards, and snakes. 🐸 Australia is home to 240 known species of native amphibians, all of which are frogs. 🐸 Forty-eight of these species, or 20%, are found in the Hunter Region. 🐸 Six of these are at risk of extinction. In our ongoing efforts to provide hands-on, practical, and educational workshops for Hunter residents, this week we created two new school-based, frog habitats with the help of 54 preschool and kindergarten students.

In 2023, 30% of Australians experienced food insecurity—a figure that has doubled over the past seven years. Last week, at The Groundswell Collective we focused on enhancing local food security and sovereignty. We had 25 volunteers come together to package 652 seed packets, which are now available for free to our 500 Lake Mac Seed Library members. Additionally, we installed three raised garden beds in our new Shelley Street Community Garden.