ReHabitat Plant Pods
ReHabitat Plant Pods are biodegradable cardboard tree guards that provide wildlife habitat from the very first day of planting.
Over 5 million native trees are planted in Australia each year. That’s awesome! But for every 1 million trees planted, corflute tree guards creates 100 tonnes of plastic waste, while plastic sheath guards create around 30 tonnes of plastic waste!!
The best operators in the field retrieve their plastic guards from site once no longer needed - but this doubles personnel and other logistical costs.
Shockingly, most tree guards are never retrieved at all… leading to plastic waste, and fully grown trees with rings of aged plastic left cutting into the base of their trunks!
Tree planting and native revegetation are meant to HELP the environment, not harm it!
Most native trees and shrubs are planted with the intention of becoming habitat for our unique Australian wildlife. But on day one of planting, a sea of tiny tubestock seedlings encased in plastic tree guards creates ZERO wildlife habitat! Those tiny plants will takes years, if not decades, to form the kind of healthy, structurally complex habitat that native animals like to call home.
What if we could provide habitat from day one?
ReHabitat Plant Pods are the new, tree-guard version of our classic ReHabitat Pod - designed to provide “pop-up” habitat for wildlife while natural habitat takes time to regrow. No other tree guard can do this!
Why choose ReHabitat Plant Pods?
We can never compete on price with flimsy plastic tree guards made in China for dirt cheap. What we CAN offer is a host of benefits far beyond anything else that is currently available:
(1) Sturdy design that lasts.
ReHabitat Plant pods are made from thick, natural cardboard, that does not collapse inwards or strangle seedlings, and will last for at least 12 months (field trials ongoing). A full grown man can stand on one of our Plant Pods without crushing it - these things are STRONG.
(2) Scientific backing.
Our Founder Dr Alex Carthey is a wildlife ecologist with over 15 years’ experience in her field. Her scientific expertise and knowledge of the ecology of Australian wildlife and plants inspired these designs and are used to design field experiments evaluating their performance and utility (stay tuned for updates and results as they come in from the field!).
(3) Benefits for wildlife AND plants.
ReHabitat Plant Pods are designed to provide Australian native seedlings with protection from the elements and herbivores, while also providing habitat for small native wildlife such as reptiles, invertebrates, small mammals and birds. The double-walled design leaves a ring of space around the planter dotted with entry and exit holes specifically sized to allow access by small native animals.
(4) Biodegrades into mulch for your tree.
The plant pods are a reiteration of the classic ReHabitat Pod - same material, same shape, just with an added spot to plant your seedling! ReHabitat pods take around 12 months to biodegrade away in the field - turning into twists and curls of peeling cardboard, that provides attractive habitat for invertebrates, a food resource for insectivorous animals like bandicoots, and is essentially a free layer of mulch for your growing seedlings! Research shows that mulching tree seedlings improves survival and growth - what a bonus from the ReHabitat tree guards!
ReHabitat Plant Pods are a biodegradable alternative to plastic tree guards that provide wildlife habitat while native vegetation regenerates.
ReHabitat Tree Guards are lightweight, ready to be assembled easily on-site and close to designated deployment areas. They contain no glues, dyes, staples, or any other non-biodegradable materials. Just natural cardboard cleverly cut and folded into shape.
