The Forest Heart Story
Passionate about restoring native vegetation and ecosystems, including our gardens.
We are passionate about restoring our amazing native vegetation and ecosystems across the wider landscape. The focus of Forest Heart ecoNursery is to work directly with you the landholder and the wider community to restore, appreciate, learn about and work with our amazing local biodiversity through education and the practical hands on work of gardening, revegetation and bush regeneration.
Forest Heart is the retail sister nursery to Brush Turkey Enterprises, enabling us to deal directly with the community which is where our heart truly is! Situated in a peaceful setting in beautiful Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, its just a short drive from the coast. We grow a large percentage of the plants we sell, so you can be sure that the plants you buy are suitable for our conditions.
At Forest Heart you will find a large variety of plants – fantastic range of groundcovers, small shrubs, trees, vines, grasses and wetland species. We have shade lovers too. We also have a range of fruit trees – lots of varieties of citrus, olives, figs, pomegranate, tamarillos and more. But we are more than a retail nursery – we also stock reference books, nest boxes, revegetation materials and more.
Forest Heart is proudly a family-run small business, built by husband and wife team, Spencer and Karen Shaw. You will also meet their daughter Brea and her four-legged mate Poppy.
NURSERY MANAGER
Brea Shaw
You will find Brea most days in our retail nursery assisting customers, tending to the plants, and generally keeping things moving behind the scenes. Her adorable furry sidekick, Poppy, is always close by.
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Karen Shaw
With 20+ years of experience, Karen is an enthusiastic environmental educator passionate about fostering appreciation for nature. Through educational programs and retail engagement, she shares her expertise in bushfoods and native plants, promoting their ecological significance and culinary potential to customers and the community.
RAINFOREST ECOLOGIST
Spencer Shaw
With over three decades of experience, Spencer is a dedicated advocate for rainforest preservation. Beyond eco-restoration, his commitment extends to education, presenting workshops and contributing articles on local flora and fauna. As the driving force behind consultant work, he empowers environmental conservation efforts.
Visit Our Nursery
“Step into our native plant nursery and immerse yourself in the beauty of indigenous flora.
Explore our diverse selection of sustainable, sun hardened, locally-sourced plants, handpicked to thrive in your garden.
Let our knowledgeable team guide you towards creating a vibrant, eco-friendly landscape that celebrates the beautiful landscape in which we inhabit”. - Spencer & Karen
Our Passion
Our passions are many – for this unique environment and the plants, animals and fungi within it, for education, for community and connections and as a small family owned and run business – for family.
Education
Education is as important to us as growing quality native plants. We are actively engaged in sharing knowledge and facilitating a deeper understanding within schools, community, for professional development and organisations. For more information about the programs we are involved with click here.