3D Food Forest Layer Visualiser
3D Food Forest Layer Visualiser
The 3D Food Forest Layer Visualiser lets you see and explain stacked edible ecosystems — from tall canopy trees down to roots, groundcovers, climbers, and fungi. With 200+ New Zealand-relevant plants placed across classic food-forest strata, it is ideal for teaching, design reviews, and visualising how Troppo’s Te Puke food forest actually works before you plant your own.
What it does
- Interactive 3D view — rotate and explore vertical structure
- Seven layer types — canopy, sub-canopy, shrub, herbaceous, groundcover, root, and vine (plus fungi context)
- 200+ NZ plants — examples you can discuss, substitute, and source
- Teaching & workshops — projected demos for schools, tours, and permaculture intro days
- Design communication — show family or clients why spacing and strata matter
- Complements the Orchard Planner — plan in 2D, then validate layers in 3D
Who it is for
Food-forest tour guests, Food Resilience School learners, teachers, designers explaining polyculture to beginners, and Troppo workshop participants who want a memorable visual before visiting the living forest in Te Puke.
How to use it
Open the visualiser, pick a layer, and browse representative species. Toggle layers on and off to show what happens when you remove groundcover or overcrowd the shrub layer. Use it in group settings to spark questions — then send people to the Food Forest Quiz to test what they learned.
Frequently asked questions
- What are food-forest layers?
- Food forests mimic forest structure: tall canopy food trees, smaller understory trees, shrubs, herbs, groundcovers, roots, and climbers — each occupying a different height and niche.
- Is this a replacement for site-specific design?
- No. It is a teaching and communication tool. Always adapt species and spacing to your soil, frost, wind, and water on the ground.
- Can schools use it for free?
- Yes. Like all Troppo grower tools, it is free for classrooms and community groups — aligned with Vector Group’s Kai Resilience education goals.
Troppo is a tropical urban food forest and exotic plant nursery in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty — an initiative of Vector Group Charitable Trust (CC45966). These tools were built here and shared across the Kai Resilience network. Browse all Troppo tools · About Troppo · Shop plants