Healthy Forests Foundation is an Australian not for profit organisation dedicated to providing holistic care for forests – guided by First Nations knowledge, culture and connection to Country. When they approached Studio Web Design, the goal was clear: create a website that feels less like a brochure and more like an invitation into the forest itself.
As a team that regularly works with non profit organisations, we knew this project needed to honour cultural protocols, highlight on-the-ground work and stay within realistic budgets, all while offering a powerful digital presence the team could grow over time
Understanding the mission: forests cared for through First Nations knowledge
Healthy Forests Foundation’s work is deeply grounded in First Nations knowledge systems and lived connection to Country. Their approach to caring for forests goes beyond conservation as a technical exercise – it’s about relationships, stories, responsibilities and reciprocity.
Our role was to translate that into a digital experience that:
- Respects and acknowledges First Nations peoples as the custodians and knowledge holders
- Shows how cultural knowledge informs every aspect of the organisation’s work
- Gives supporters, partners and community members a clear sense of impact
- Provides a safe, private space for First Nations members to share resources with each other
From the outset, we approached the project as a story-first non profit website design challenge – one where every visual, interaction and layout decision had to reinforce that story.
Translating a living landscape into a digital experience
An opening sequence that invites you into the forest
The homepage opens with an aerial drone shot of the forest, slowly drawing you in. Rather than a static hero image, we wanted the experience to feel like you are entering Country – gliding over canopies, hearing the wind and seeing the light shift.
This is quickly cut with other drone perspectives to create a sense of grand, almost mythological beauty. The effect is intentional: the forest is not just a backdrop, it is the main character. The opening sequence sets the tone for the rest of the website, reminding visitors that everything begins with Country.
A visual language shaped by Country
To support this story-driven approach, we built a visual language that avoids harsh symmetry and rigid grids. Instead, we leaned into:
- Organic shapes and subtle overlays that feel hand-drawn rather than mechanical
- A colour palette inspired by forest tones – earth, bark, canopy, dusk and water
- Soft edges and flowing lines that suggest rivers, ridgelines and pathways
Images are framed with gentle, irregular touches so nothing feels overly “perfect” or clinical. This more organic, free-flowing treatment better reflects the way Country is experienced – layered, complex and alive – and gives the website design an identity that is grounded rather than generic.
Showing real work on the ground, not just administration
One of the strongest points of alignment between our team and Healthy Forests Foundation was the insistence that the website should never feel like a purely administrative or marketing exercise. The organisation works directly with communities, knowledge holders and people on the ground – the website needed to make that visible.
We dedicated a major section of the website to projects and people, designed to:
- Show active and past projects with clear context – where, who and why
- Highlight the people directly involved in each project, not just logos or abstract descriptions
- Explain impact in ways that feel concrete and human, not just metric-driven
From a non profit website development perspective, we built the projects section so it is easy for the team to update as their work evolves. New projects, stories, imagery and acknowledgements can be added without needing a developer each time, ensuring the story stays current and active.
Designing a culturally sensitive Member Portal
Beyond the public-facing website, one of the most important parts of the project sits behind a login: the Member Portal. This private space is dedicated to First Nations members, giving them a secure area to share knowledge, resources and discussions that are not intended for the wider public.
From the outset, it was clear this space needed to respect cultural protocols – including how certain knowledge is shared according to gender roles and other community considerations. That meant the portal could not be a standard “one-size-fits-all” login area.
Access control shaped by cultural protocols
We designed a permissions model that allows access to be carefully managed based on member profiles. Practically, this meant:
- Only authenticated members with the right credentials can enter the portal
- Certain resources are visible only to specific genders where required
- Administrators can assign and adjust access in line with cultural guidelines
These considerations had to flow all the way through the content management system. It was not enough to hide content on the front end – we needed to ensure that the way resources are stored, tagged and managed behind the scenes also respects those rules.
The result is a Member Portal that operates less like a generic “resource library” and more like a digitally supported extension of existing cultural practices, with technology quietly doing the work in the background.
Balancing ambition with not for profit realities
Working with not for profit organisations in Australia often involves finding the right balance between ambition and budget. Healthy Forests Foundation is no different – every dollar needs to be justified and directed towards impact.
To respect this, our approach focused on:
- Prioritising features that directly supported the mission – storytelling, projects and the Member Portal
- Choosing a technical stack that is robust but maintainable without excessive ongoing costs
- Designing reusable content blocks so new pages can be created quickly without additional development time
Because we specialise in non profit website services, we’re familiar with the trade-offs many organisations face: the need for strong digital infrastructure without enterprise-level budgets. On this project, that meant being practical in our build while still delivering a highly tailored experience.
A website that feels like walking into the forest
The finished website gives Healthy Forests Foundation a central, story-led digital home that welcomes visitors into the forest through immersive visuals and movement, honours First Nations knowledge and connection to land throughout the design and content, makes on-the-ground projects and the people behind them visible and easy to explore, and provides a culturally considerate Member Portal where First Nations members can share resources safely.
If you’re part of a not for profit organisation looking to tell your story online, we’d love to help. Learn more about our dedicated non profit website design and non profit website development services, or explore how we support non profits across Australia to share their impact with the world.