Exploring the Watson Microforest
The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM™) is delighted to present an immersive site visit of the Watson Microforest, led by Mitch Porteous, CEO and Co-Founder of Microforest Collective.
From Vacant Land to Urban Forest: A Community Infrastructure Case Study
The Watson Microforest is one of six community-built native microforests established by Microforest Collective across Australia since 2019. Developed using the renowned Miyawaki dense-planting method, the project has transformed a small parcel of public land into a thriving urban forest — enhancing canopy cover, reducing urban heat, supporting biodiversity, and creating a meaningful gathering place for the local community.
This engaging site tour will explore the Watson Microforest through the lens of project management, highlighting how a small, volunteer-led team successfully navigated land-use licensing, stakeholder engagement, soil preparation, plant sourcing, funding constraints, and the coordination of a large-scale community planting day.
Microforest Collective’s approach is intentionally designed for replication and scale. Rather than delivering projects centrally, the organisation empowers local leaders with the tools, governance frameworks, and funding support required to establish their own community microforests.
For project professionals, this session offers valuable insights into community infrastructure delivery, agile stakeholder management, systems thinking, and the practical challenges of delivering high-impact civic projects within constrained timelines and budgets.
What You Will Learn
- Gain an understanding of the Miyawaki method and its application to community-scale urban green infrastructure
- Explore the project management challenges associated with volunteer-led civic initiatives, including licensing, stakeholder coordination, and budget management
- Discover how replicable systems and enablement platforms can support the national scaling of community-led infrastructure projects
- Observe a live project outcome and discuss ongoing stewardship, monitoring, and community ownership models
Who Should Attend
Project professionals and industry practitioners interested in community-led urban greening, civic infrastructure, sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and innovative approaches to project delivery.
Registration is complimentary for AIPM™ members, with non-members also warmly welcome to attend. Registrations are essential.
The first 20 attendees to arrive will receive a complimentary coffee.
To register for an AIPM event, you’ll need to login to your AIPM account. If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to create an account with AIPM before you register.
Price
- Members: Complimentary
- Non-members: $33 (including GST)
- Registration closes: 15/07/2026 - 11:59 PM AEST
Speaker
Mitch Porteous
CEO and cofounder of Microforest Collective
Mitch Porteous is CEO and cofounder of Microforest Collective, a registered charity delivering community-led green infrastructure nationally - and CEO and founder of BlockPlanner, a Canberra property consultancy working across planning advocacy, place activation, and housing delivery.
His projects include the ACT's largest cohousing initiative, a government-backed design competition for Canberra's most prominent civic site, and six microforests across ACT, NSW, and Victoria and growing. His TEDx talk made the case that giving communities the tools, frameworks, and agency to shape their own neighbourhoods produces better outcomes than top-down delivery alone.
He believes the best urban infrastructure is built with communities, not for them.
In Partnership With