SUGi Talks

In this episode of SUGi Talks, we hosted an in-depth conversation with leading voice in regenerative health and ecology, Zach Bush, on the topic of human health, biodiversity, and why reconnecting with Nature is essential to our collective well-being. Together, we explored the profound interconnectedness between human biology and living systems, and examined the science linking biodiversity loss,...

In September 2025, we hosted an in-depth conversation with leading experts in ecology, urban greening, and community development on the topic of Biodiversity & Belonging and why Wild Urban Spaces Matter for our health and well-being. Together with internationally recognised author of The Nature of Our Cities , Dr. Nadina Galle; founder of Nowadays on Earth, Kalpana Alejandra Arias; and our own...

Our SUGi Forest Maker Brett Krause grew up on a sawmill in Northern Queensland. Witnessing deforestation and the destruction of habitats, he was inspired to be part of the solution. Upon discovering the Miyawaki Method of creating rapid-growth biodiverse native forests, Brett set about on a mission to restore habitat for endangered species, like the extraordinary Cassowary and the Mahogany Glider....

Since the Enlightenment public space has served a pivotal role in the exchange of ideas, the cultivation of national identity, and the integration of communities. In Beirut however, money-hungry privatisation and hostile policies have left much of its public spaces dwindling.  In 2019, in a demand for change protestors reclaimed Beirut’s historical public space, Martyrs' Square. During the rev...

Amman, Jordan is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, and the ongoing desertification of the region continues to threaten its resources. Our SUGi Forest Maker Deema Assaf watched her hometown of Amman become almost unrecognisable as urbanisation swept through its landscapes. Understanding the cost of losing so much Nature she trained to become a Forest Maker and in 2018 she planted the...

On this excerpt of ⁠SUGi Talks⁠ we speak to Gaurav Gurjar. Gaurav is a jungle tree expert at Afforestt and the Director of the Maruvan Foundation in Rajasthan. Over the past few years, Gaurav has been restoring an area of India’s lost desert forest, and with the support of SUGi he’s begun the second 4,000 sqm phase of the project. Living on the land, enduring intense heat and drought, Gaurav has w...

In this episode of SUGi Talks we meet the writer and journalist Lucy Jones. Her book Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need The Wild explores the powerful ways Nature impacts our lives, and dives deep into the research that explains why we have such a profound connection to the living world.. 

Our cities are in trouble and it’s not just the climate crisis. Urban areas are facing multiple interconnected challenges, including the ecological crisis, the human health crisis, and the climate crisis.  In this episode of SUGi Talks, we speak to Cecil Konijnendijk about how Nature-based Solutions, like our SUGi Pocket Forests, can help mitigate the growing issues in our cities.  With over 30 ye...

Did you know that underneath the forest floor resources can be transferred from one tree to another in need? The Mycorrhizal Network is a fungal web that resides in soil. It functions like Nature’s internet, connecting many plants and enabling the transfer of resources and chemical messengers. On this excerpt of SUGi Talks we speak with ecologist and SUGi Forest Maker Gabriel Orrego about the magi...

What would happen our minds if one day we woke up to a world with no trees, forests, or even grass? If birds and butterflies were a thing of the past, and green spaces were non-existent. What if our only experience of Nature was through a simulation on a screen? This is the stark future depicted in the opening of Lucy Jones’s book Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild. It traces her own journey...

Roaming the lush rainforests of Northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea, the Cassowary bird is a striking sight to behold. Resembling something like an exquisite dinosaur at 6 feet tall, this at-risk flightless bird is now in a fight for survival. As a keystone species, the Cassowary is facing endangerment due to the fragmentation of its habitat by development and industrial agriculture.  On this...

Our cities are heating up, and fast. Rising global temperatures means the urban heat island effect in our cities will be amplified. Trees are a proven way to help cities combat this growing issue. On this excerpt of ⁠SUGi Talks⁠ we speak to Dr. Grey Coupland. Grey is our lead scientist at SUGi, and she holds the key to the rich data behind our Pocket Forests. With a PhD in ecology, her most recent...

In 2019, after decades of corruption, intense pollution and a severe economic collapse, protestors flooded the streets of Beirut demanding change. Amongst them was environmental architect and one of our first SUGi Forest Makers, Adib Dada.  Deep into the revolution, Adib was in the second phase of his RiverLESS SUGi Pocket Forest, a project he designed with SUGi to help regenerate The Beirut River...

“I can remember walking out and there being rocks here and there. The dirt was just powder; there wasn’t even weeds growing. After Ethan did all of the things with the soils. It’s beautiful because we’re rebuilding what was already here.  Think of when an eagle that went and caught a salmon, ate it and then left some of its remnants; that’s exactly what we are doing here. Because those are the nut...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP.09 — Cities in Crisis: How Nature-based Solutions & urban trees can tackle our cities' growing issues. You might have heard the term 'Nature-based Solutions', but what does it actually mean? What do they look like? And how can they help cities tackle the ecological and climate crisis? On this episode of SUGi Talks, we meet Cecil Konijnendijk. Cecil co-directs the N...

Our cities are expanding. Green spaces are being gobbled up by concrete and asphalt. And what is the cost of this rapid urbanisation? Why do we need Nature in our cities? How can urban forests help biodiversity and community wellbeing?  On this episode of SUGi Talks, we meet James Godfrey-Faussett. As SUGi’s lead Forest Maker, James manages our global urban Pocket Forest and afforestation efforts....

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP.08: The Cloud Gardener: Taking on the UK’s urban developers.   Like many of us, during the pandemic Jason Williams, aka The Cloud Gardener, was forced indoors. While on furlough from his hospitality job, he decided to try a few plants out on his balcony. Up on the 18th floor of a high rise in Manchester city, he went from struggling with one marigold flower to transforming his bal...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP03: The Impact: What does science say about our Miyawaki Forests?  Did you know that there is a biodiversity crisis in our cities? How can our Pocket Forests help cities? Do they actually work?  On this episode of SUGi Talks, we meet Dr. Grey Coupland.  Grey is our lead scientist at SUGi, and she holds the key to the rich data behind our Pocket Forests. Based in Perth Australia, sh...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP07: Jordan’s Changing Landscapes: The ecological price tag of urbanisation. In the not-too-distant past, Deema was working as an architect in Amman, Jordan. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, Deema watched her hometown become almost unrecognisable as urbanisation swept through its landscapes, forgoing much of its Nature and local biodiversity.  As Jordan’s ongoing d...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP06: The Mycorrhizal Network: Do trees really speak to each other? Did you know that underneath the forest floor a sophisticated network of fungi forms a secret super highway between plants? Carrying resources and chemical messengers, this highway acts as a mysterious support system allowing trees to communicate and share material.  The Mycorrhizal Network, or the Wood Wide Web, was...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP05: Community: How a Miyawaki Forest at Yakama Nation is healing generations.   Since time immemorial the traditional lifeways of the Yakama people have been deeply rooted in the natural world. However, the ongoing trauma inflicted on the community has left this connection to the land fractured, with indigenous knowledge dwindling amongst many of the younger generations. In 2020 Ch...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP04: The Miyawaki Method: A brief history of life-saving forests with Professor (Dr) Kazue Fujiwara. In the 1970s, Japan was undergoing an industrial boom. As the skies filled with smog and pollution soared, public health became a grave concern. In response ⁠Professor (Dr) Akira Miyawaki⁠ turned to native forests. Understanding their power in mitigating pollution and natural disaste...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP02: India’s Lost Desert Forests: Can life thrive in the desert? Rajasthan, the Desert State of India, has always been considered barren land. Because of this misconception it has become one of the most ignored places for ecological restoration. However ancient literature and fossils have shown that there were once forests where the Thar Desert now resides. Today our Forest Maker Ga...

SUGi Talks 🌿 EP01: Urban Biodiversity: Can Pocket Forests save our cities? Our cities are expanding. Green spaces are being gobbled up by concrete and asphalt. And what is the cost of this rapid urbanisation? Why do we need Nature in our cities? How can urban forests help biodiversity and community wellbeing?  On this episode of SUGi Talks, we meet James Godfrey-Faussett. As SUGi’s lead Forest Ma...