seed setCORPORATE & COMMUNITY

 

know where you stand

How familiar are you with your place in the world? Can you name 5 models of cars? What about 5 fast food stores? Now try and name 5 plant species local to your neighborhood? It's quite alarming how many of us are disconnected from the natural ecology of the place we call home.

a place called home

The Last Tree sees robust interconnectivity as the future for design and planning. Most systems on Earth depend on relationships of reoccurring reciprocity. Societies can radically benefit from ecological thinking and one example of this is connecting businesses with communities.

The Last Tree seeds environmental programs that have ongoing benefits for both business and community. Our skill is to bridge the cultural and environmental, to translate between government, corporations and community, sourcing inspiring solutions that sustain a mix of needs.

We have solid experience in this field of social sustainability, connecting Developers & Community Groups. Our work focuses on reconnecting people to nature, especially their local environment and we have developed & trialled a range of methods to do this (see ellenbrook example below).

Trees know better than any about belonging to place. These mighty wonders take root and forge symbiotic connections from the ground they stand on.

treespiral

Recently however, The Last Tree has begun to reach its tips further and is seeking bigger challenges in the field of creative environmentalism. We know we are organisational superheroes and still advocate for community transition but we want to work deeper on applying 'ecological thinking' to design and policy.

Ecological thinking in brief, is being responsive to the “living nature of the pattern” by understanding our universe is an interconnected system, powered by a continuum of evolution and entropy within every ecosystem, that constitutes the whole. (Herman Prigann)

This is not an entirely new way of knowing as it is synonymous with many Indigenous world views. What is new is understanding why ‘dynamic connected patterns’ are critical to future designing/planning if we are going to mitigate untold environmental displacement.

The Last Tree studio believes a state of ecocide is already upon us and that our global environmental crisis is underpinned by cultural roots which can be understood in part, as a crisis of vision. We are seeking practice-based research projects  that apply ecological thinking to these crises to identify what tools facilitate culture-nature connection and where these tools activate new narratives/imaginings/visions for an ecologically responsive paradigm.

 

the ellenbrook example

The Last Tree developed a Sustainability Communications program for Australian Developers LWP Property Group.  During a 16 month contract (July 2007 – November 2008) The Last Tree worked with a multi-disciplined team which included: Ellenbrook community representatives; LWP staff; specialist consultants; local school principals; community organisations & businesses; and local & state government.

The Ellenbrook program was delivered as small 'seed' projects that worked to:

  • connect with a broad and diverse demographic
  • deliver outcomes from easily achieved motivators to seeding long-term behavior change
  • respond to and manage the continued health of the local environment
  • integrate global sustainability initiatives (in both business and community)
  • improve business sustainability systems for LWP

sustainability communications

Ellenbrook Sustainability Communications PDF