Community empowerment
Volunteers grow seedlings as part of the WynTree Friends Group, an inclusive network with pathways through Parks Victoria’s Park Connect platform.
A social enterprise rooted in community leadership
Founded in 2021 with Wyndham City Council support, Canopy Accelerator Co-operative Limited (CACL) brings residents, partners, and migrants together to nurture the west’s tree canopy and local jobs.
Our mission
CACL combats climate change and boosts community wellbeing by rapidly increasing tree canopy cover across Wyndham and neighbouring western suburbs.
Environmental stewardship
We steward Bunurong Country through locally sourced species, micro-forest design, and careful planting that lifts biodiversity and heat resilience.
Collective action
Our co-operative structure reinvests surpluses into scaling nursery and planting capacity, proving that shared ownership accelerates impact.
Our story
CACL emerged from The Migrant Hub Inc., founded by President Walter Villagonzalo, whose social enterprise leadership spans 2015 Wyndham Citizen of the Year, Deputy Mayor, and Australia’s Social Enterprise Champion in 2016. The Migrant Hub incubated inclusive ventures such as MiHUB Café and MiRefuge, demonstrating how migrant-led innovation can build community belonging.
In 2021, with seed funding and co-operative training supported by Wyndham City Council, nineteen residents registered CACL as a non-distributing co-operative. The vision: a network of community-owned tree nurseries that turn vacant land into thriving habitat while creating meaningful employment.
Profit-for-purpose model
Certified social enterprise
CACL meets Social Traders’ criteria by centring a public benefit mission, earning from trade in seedlings and services, and reinvesting at least half of its surplus into impact.
Income diversification
Grants and donations fuel early growth, while sales of indigenous seedlings, advanced trees, planting, and maintenance services sustain long-term operations and local jobs.
Scaling ambition
The west needs one million trees annually to reach 30% canopy cover by 2050. CACL is building the systems, partnerships, and workforce to deliver its share of that target.