Matt Cooper is the director and co-founder of Kyaninga Forest Foundation and over the last ten years, he and his team have been responsible for the planting of more than 60,000 indigenous trees. His dedication to the promotion of local species instead of the traditional exotics such as pine and eucalyptus are finally reaping rewards with not only many farmers adopting the practice, but even many like-minded NGO’s. His understanding of the local forest landscape and the continuous human-wildlife conflict that takes place along its borders, means his skillset will offer a practical insight into the applicability of scientific findings in real-world scenarios. He is also a researcher working as a systems scientist addressing linkages between anthropogenic soil disturbances and tropical forest recovery mechanisms in the Soil Resources group at ETH Zurich. His research is linking below-ground processes (soils) to above-ground growth metrics (terrestrial vegetation carbon) whilst simultaneously addressing ecological restoration success (functional trait analysis). Co-leading the Reforestation WorkShop IV, Matt and KFF are the main host of the summer school and support the workshops’ implementation during the course of the event.

Email : mattcooper@hotmail.de