On a patch of paddock in West Gippsland stands a small forest, which wasn\u2019t there before.<\/p>\n
Flowering gums and she-oaks reach up nine metres tall, birds nest in their branches, while a giant tiger snake slides through the grass below.<\/p>\n
All it took was one day of \u201cbloody hard\u201d work.<\/p>\n
About four years ago the Australian film-maker and outdoorsman Beau Miles set out to plant 1,440 trees and shrubs in 24 hours \u2013 enough to turn a blanket of rolling Victorian hills back into bush.<\/p>\n
Miles decided he was done with the kind of modern-day adventures that burned through money and carbon, delivering little in the way of tangible outcomes except for photos and a great story. Instead, he says, he began looking for physical challenges that offer more \u201cbang-for-buck\u201d.<\/p>\n
Planting a tree a minute was \u2018bloody hard\u2019, Miles says. Photograph: Chris Ord<\/p>\n
The project was inspired by a joy flight Miles was given for his 40th birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI flew directly over my house, where I\u2019ve grown up,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was remarkable how green it was but it was a green rolling blanket, rather than a green rolling forest \u2026 when you see it from the air it\u2019s so blank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noticing how bare it was, he set himself the goal of planting a tree a minute for 24 hours to turn it into bushland again.<\/p>\n
The little forest is on a nearby plot of land owned by his friend, otherwise used for farming.<\/p>\n
Working at that rate was \u201cbloody hard\u201d, Miles says. \u201cI thought it would be hard but I didn\u2019t think it would be that hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to about a thousand trees and then had a few hours\u2019 sleep \u2013 I thought I was stuffed.\u201d A second wind in the last hour allowed him to finish the job.<\/p>\n
He says the result four years on is \u201ctotally worth it\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In a video posted last week<\/a> Miles returns to the land where he planted four years ago. There are trees big enough to climb, a resident wombat, a cockatoo feather.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good-looking little bit of forest,\u201d he says in the video. \u201cI planted it. So maybe I\u2019m a bit biased.\u201d<\/p>\n Before \u2026 a bare paddock. Photograph: Mitch DrummondAnd after \u2026 the young forest. Photograph: Mitch Drummond<\/p>\n The most rewarding moment, Miles says, was boiling a billy in the forest\u2019s grassy understorey and enjoying a cup of tea.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt it was a really lovely, almost profound moment \u2013 like I\u2019d just had another kid \u2013 in that I\u2019d made an impact of some kind.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Clear Air Australia<\/p>\n Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Prof David Karoly, an expert in climate change science and councillor with the Climate Council, says while the fossil fuels industry remains the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, every tonne of carbon dioxide avoided or removed from the atmosphere matters.<\/p>\n That means individual and community climate actions \u2013 walking or cycling instead of driving, investing your super ethically, installing solar panels, planting a garden or trees, as well as voting \u2013 make an important difference.<\/p>\n \u201cIndividual actions do accumulate and do reduce Australia\u2019s emissions, even if they\u2019re voluntary,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Karoly, who was not involved in Miles\u2019 project, says planting and maintaining trees over a long period of time helps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and brings other benefits, including establishing ecosystem corridors for animals.<\/p>\n \u201cSince colonisation, Australia has lost more than 70% of its native vegetation through agriculture and urbanisation.\u201d<\/p>\n The burgeoning forest in West Gippsland is to double in size in the next six weeks.<\/p>\n Buoyed up by success, Miles says the plan now is to turn \u201cviews into trees\u201d \u2013 investing ad revenue from YouTube views back into more tree stock, with another round of planting set for October.<\/p>\n Many of the trees are already taller than a house. Photograph: Mitch Drummond<\/p>\n Worries about environmental and climate change aren\u2019t going to go away anytime soon, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve lost half of our forest in 200 years and 38 mammals. It\u2019s kind of devastating, but very abstract \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about being a greenie. I just see it as necessary. Like having a good breakfast in the morning or being nice to your kids \u2013 you just should do it.<\/p>\n \u201cJust get on with doing what\u2019s in front of you, helping your patch and being busy. Because all of a sudden you find yourself in this beautiful feedback loop of reward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a patch of paddock in West Gippsland stands a small forest, which wasn\u2019t there before. 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