The visually compelling short documentary Think Like a Forest explores the significance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s native forests, their decline, the threats they face and a transformative vision for their future.
Central to the film is this ambitious national initiative - a science/mātauranga-led, nature-based restoration strategy aimed at protecting old-growth forest, removing invasive pests and regenerating native bush across more than 2 million hectares over the next 30 years. The narrative of the documentary explains how native forest restoration enhances resilience to climate change by stabilising landscapes, supporting biodiversity and integrating forests with other land uses for a more robust environmental future. The film emphasises that effective restoration must be driven by those who know the land - farmers, Māori trusts, catchment groups - working alongside local and central government support.
Therefore, to achieve the objective of recloaking Papatūānuku, earth mother, it is suggested that collective action is needed for an ecosystem, people and nature understanding each other and working together. Recognising and celebrating differences lies at the heart of thinking like a forest.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this short documentary was the way in which it focused on some of the positive things that are happening around the motu.
In our world, which seems to polarise things to either good or bad, right or wrong, black or white, with very little recognition of the many grey areas and how something can be both good and bad, this documentary encourages us to stop and think like a forest.
Thinking like a forest involves slowing down. Forests grow slowly, regenerate what they use, and thrive because every part - trees, birds, fungi and soils - plays a role. To "think like a forest" is to bring those same principles into how we live, work and plan for the future.
Here are four practical things that we can start to do:
1. Value Interconnection
A forest survives because nothing stands alone - roots, fungi and leaves all depend on one another. In our lives and communities, this means recognising that decisions about transport, housing, or farming ripple out to affect climate, health and future generations.
2. Plan for the Long Term
Forests think in centuries, not election cycles. Thinking like a forest means choosing actions today that our mokopuna will thank us for - whether planting native trees, designing energy-efficient homes or investing in resilient local economies. We can start asking - how might I be a good ancestor?
3. Embrace diversity
A monoculture is fragile; a forest is strong because it is varied. Likewise, diverse voices, skills and cultures make our communities, organisations and economies more creative and adaptable. Supporting inclusion is a form of resilience. Recognising and supporting difference, rather than being divisive and shutting down opposing voices is thinking like a forest.
4. Give back more than you take
Healthy forests regenerate the soil and water they rely on. We can do the same by repairing instead of discarding, conserving energy and designing businesses that restore rather than deplete nature.
The aim to recloak Papatūānuku is a bold, science-led and mātauranga-informed initiative to restore native forest across more than 2 million hectares of Aotearoa over the next three decades. The goal is not simply to plant trees, but to rebuild living landscapes that support biodiversity, stabilise soils, and strengthen resilience to climate change.
This goal draws on the idea of "cloaking" Papatūānuku, once again in her native cover. It is about more than conservation - it is a recognition that our wellbeing is inseparable from the wellbeing of the land. Local farmers, iwi and catchment groups are already leading restoration projects, showing that thinking like a forest starts with communities who know and care for their whenua.
One question that Sam asks a number of times during the documentary is how to value native forest regeneration. What are the business models that enable native forest to be valued? Currently, these are difficult to find. However, things are shifting and biodiversity and nature is being recognised as often underpinning the very process of value creation.
Like a forest we will need multiple, diverse tools and mechanisms to build business models to create value for native forests and biodiversity.
If we can begin to think like a forest - valuing connection, diversity, and reciprocity - we can create the resilient communities, organisations and landscapes that Aotearoa needs for the decades ahead.
For more
If you are interested in hearing more about thinking intergenerationally then come along to the opening panel of the Wao Summit in Wānaka this year and hear from Sam, myself and Dr Mawera Karetai on the Journey to 2125 - www.wao.co.nz/wao-summit-event-programme-2025/journey-to-2125
Prof Sara Walton works in the area of sustainability, climate change and business at the Otago Business School, University of Otago. Each week in this column writers address issues of sustainability.
