Leading a community microforest can be a rewarding yet demanding endeavour, especially for busy people, who juggle multiple roles. Drawing on the experiences of our seasoned microforest volunteers, here are seven practical ways to avoid burnout while nurturing the forest and your well-being.
1. Pace Yourself and Practice Self-Care
Canberran, Jennifer Bardsley is a public servant with three young boys and the leader of the Holt Microforest. With a core team in 2022, they established a community microforest and food forest in their bland suburban park.
Jennifer says it’s important to pace yourself and integrate self-care into your routine. While Jennifer practices martial arts, self-care will mean different things to different people. It might mean having a cup of tea quietly in your garden. Or practising yoga or going for a brisk walk. Find the activities that calm you and nourish your nervous system.
2. Embrace Self-Discipline and Awareness
After co-leading the Watson Microforest, Liz Adcock realised she needed to balance her drive with self-care and family-care. Liz says it’s important to understand your limits and exercise self-discipline to manage tasks without compromising your well-being.
Self-discipline could mean committing to yourself and loved ones that you will only do a set amount of microforest ‘work’ on the weekend or in the evening. By setting a timer, allow yourself to walk away, even if the task is unfinished.
3. Avoid perfectionism
Jennifer Bardsley adds it’s important to acknowledge that the microforest journey will have ups and downs. There may be setbacks, like when plants die because it’s too wet (this occurred at Holt and Moruya) or plants grow slower than expected.
4. Build a supportive team
All our Microforest Makers agree that building a supportive team is critical to deliver a microforest with community input at each step of the 12-18 month journey.
It’s one thing to head up team, but knowing when to empower and delegate to others is critical. This enables your team members to realise their potential and contribute meaningfully, which in turn, reduces the burden on any individual. This approach not only fosters a sense of ownership among team members but also builds a resilient and resourceful community.
5. Ruthless Prioritization is Key
Purdie Bowden co-lead of the Watson Microforest emphasises the importance of what she terms ‘ruthless prioritization’. She says, the final week of the crowdfunding campaign can be full-on and require careful planning and focus. It’s crucial to prepare in advance, by scheduling communications, to avoid overload. She says, platforms like Facebook have options to set up posts in advance.
6. Celebrate the milestones
After making their first microforest in 2020, The Climate Factory broke the process into eight easy-to-follow steps. All our Microforest Makers agree on the importance of celebrating the milestones at the end of each step. These don’t have to be fancy occasions, just a pause to acknowledge you’re a step closer to the end goal.
7. Savour the Journey
Finally, it’s essential to appreciate the journey itself, not just the destination. The relationships forged, the small victories along the way, and the shared experiences are what ultimately enrich the endeavour. Being inspired by the community and drawing strength from collective efforts can sustain motivation and prevent burnout.
Avoiding burnout requires a blend of self-awareness, planning, celebration and a flexible, appreciative approach to the microforest journey. By implementing these insights from experienced volunteers, you can cultivate a thriving microforest and a balanced life.
Headspace provides more resources and information to prevent burnout.
