Afghan refugee and AMES client Amin Niazai is volunteering with a group called ‘Wyntree’ at Wyndham, in Melbourne’s west, that is establishing a nursery and a ‘tiny forest’.
Based on a Japanese model, tiny forests are aimed at restoring small parcels of urban land to their original natural landscapes by replanting native species.
The forests restore tree canopies and become localised carbon sinks.
“Using a method invented by a Japanese botanist in the 1970s the forests are dense copses with high biodiversity. They show that plants can thrive in areas the size of a tennis court,” Amin said.
“The trees in these forests can grow more quickly and absorb more carbon than plantations grown for timber.
“The local group has no technical expertise but they have an amazing passion for nature and conservation so I am happy to contribute to help them,” he said.
Before fleeing his homeland, Amin, who has a doctorate in Forestry and Biomaterials, had a dream to turn the deserts of his country green, creating food sources, jobs and sustainable ecosystems.
He developed the plan to transform landscapes ravaged by years of drought and make them productive again while also lifting the living standards of local populations.
But the return of the Taliban has meant his dreams remain just that.
“I had a dream and a plan for my country. And my studies were all aimed towards this dream of making the deserts of Afghanistan green and to restore the forests of my country,” he said.
“We had concrete ideas around fighting desertification and reducing the effect of years of drought.
“This would have improved the lives of people and communities through sustainable forestry and farming initiatives.
“It was a very practical plan to make parts of my country more productive through restoring native species. We have a lot of labour in Afghanistan so there was an opportunity to grow commercial crops such as nuts.
“But then the Taliban returned and the government collapsed – along with my dreams,” Amin said.
But the 34-year-old has not given up on his dream.
“I still dream that one day we will go back when we have peace and stability and we will rebuild the country,” he said.