An enterprising Australian designer has accidentally invented a single $15 gardening device that solves three problems.
Zac Vassallo is employed by ReHabitat, a start-up famous for creating cardboard pods that are deployed after bushfires to provide emergency shelter for wildlife.
“I was trying to develop a third version of our Rehabitat pod, and stumbled across the design and realised that it would actually act as a really good tree guard,” he said.
The habitat pods are pyramid-shaped and have small holes that small mammals can enter to find refuge. By cutting the top and inverting the cardboard flaps, he created a new type of tree guard, called a Plant Pod.
As the pods slowly degrade, they suppress weeds and attract bugs. Source: Supplied
Why are tree guards needed?
In Australia, tree guards are needed to stop newly planted saplings from being eaten by invasive species like rabbits, native kangaroos and wallabies, or livestock. But they’re traditionally made from plastic, and this creates a terrible waste problem when they’re used at scale by councils and landholders in revegetation.
“They’re made from cardboard, which comes flat-packed and is biodegradable. So they can be set and forgotten, as opposed to traditional tree guards, which often break down into microplastics,” Vassallo said.
Pest species like rabbits struggle to reach the saplings planted inside plant pods. Source: Supplied
Three problems solved by the invention
Once placed on the ground, the inner hole protects the tree,
The outer ring provides space for animals returning to the newly created habitat.
Newly planted saplings are often swamped by invasive weeds, but the invention’s wide footprint supresses them.
These 3D models highlight the design of the newly developed tree guards. Source: Michael Dahlstrom
Viewed from underneath, it’s possible to see the centre space for the tree, and the surrounding area for wildlife. Source: Michael Dahlstrom
How invention creates an ecosystem around trees
ReHatch director Dr Alexandra Carthey was awarded a $55,000 grant from the Taronga Conservation Society back in 2023 for her wildlife protection pods.
Speaking to Yahoo News at this year’s Waste Expo in Melbourne, she said no one else was producing biodegradable tree guards with in-built wildlife habitat. Their testing has indicated that as the product breaks down in the environment, it continues to encourage life to flourish around the tree, traps nutrients underneath, and helps prevent erosion.
“As the cardboard breaks down, you’re attracting bugs and beetles, because it’s kind of like compost or mulch. And then you get birds coming in to eat them,” she said.
Monitoring has revealed birds are attracted to the pods. Source: Supplied
Ordinarily, when an area is revegetated, there’s no useful habitat provided until the trees reach a large size, which normally takes around five years.
“With our biodegradable tree guard, its inbuilt wildlife habitat boosts biodiversity from day one of planting,” Carthey said.
While prices start at $15, the cost dramatically decreases with bulk orders. And there are discounts for community, environment, and Indigenous led groups.
“We’re not trying to make a buck, we’re just trying to have great impacts,” Carthey said.
Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.
Comments are closed.