About SquareBySquare
SquareBySquare connects people to real, mapped areas of protected rainforest.
This page explains who we are, how protection works, where the money goes, and how you can verify the structure for yourself.
We’re Henk and Emely
We started SquareBySquare to make protecting real land feel clear, tangible, and personal.
We are a two-person founding team, and we are building the company openly. Every decision, claim, and partnership follows one rule:
Henk, Founder
Henk built South Africa’s largest WiFi network before moving into Australia’s startup sector. He later worked on and invested in growing ventures connected with companies including Salesforce, Qantas, and Atlassian.
Over time, he became increasingly concerned that destroying nature can be more financially attractive than protecting it. He also saw that planting new trees cannot replace protecting the rainforest that already exists. He founded SquareBySquare to help make protecting existing habitat easier to understand and support.
Emely, Co-Founder
Emely grew up near a protected biotope in Germany and developed an early connection to nature. She wanted to understand how business could be used to support environmental protection, so she studied at WHU while helping grow a startup to €1.5 million in annual revenue.
She now puts that experience into building SquareBySquare. She is also a photographer, vegan, and happiest outdoors.
Our mission: lasting protection, Square by Square
Our mission is to help protect nature for the long term.
Protecting rainforest does not end when land is acquired. The land still needs monitoring, restoration, weed management, erosion control, and ongoing care. All of this requires reliable funding.
That is why every Square supports a clearly defined protection period. For our current project, that period is a minimum of 10 years.
We only promise the protection that has been contractually secured and funded. As we establish longer agreements with conservation partners, we aim to extend those protection periods and communicate every change openly.
We also want conservation funding to grow beyond donations alone. We are building a self-funding model that can support conservation partners and help protect nature in different parts of the world.
We believe this is the right structure for the mission today. We remain open to changing it if another structure serves the mission better in the future.
The best way to protect nature is to buy it before destructive industries do.
How a Square protects real land
You choose a Square
Each Square is linked to a real, GPS-defined square metre of conservation land.
A conservation partner owns and protects the land
The partner legally holds the land and manages it for conservation throughout the agreed protection period.
Your contribution supports the work
Square funding supports conservation, the SquareBySquare platform, and reaching more Protectors.
Our current project is at Djarawong, near Mission Beach, Queensland, within the Cassowary Corridor on Gulngai Country.
A Square is a place, a profile, and a community
Your own square metre
A real, GPS-defined square metre of protected rainforest, pinned at its exact location on the live map.
A Protector profile
Your public profile shows the Squares you protect and the projects you have supported.
See Emely’sNeighbours on the map
See who protects the Squares next to yours, and explore their profiles from the map.
Open the mapThe country leaderboard
Watch where in the world Protectors are coming from, and see your country climb.
See the leaderboardA certificate
A certificate recording your Square, its coordinates, and the project it protects.
Real protection funded
Support for the protection and stewardship of a real area of land, cared for on the ground.
For clarity: A Square does not include land ownership, a title deed, development rights, resource extraction rights, or financial returns.
Legal ownership and responsibility for the land remain with the conservation partner. This allows the land to remain under professional conservation management.
Who owns the land, and how protection is enforced
We do not hold the land ourselves. The people and organisations closest to a landscape understand its wildlife, its risks, and the work it needs.
Our current partner is C4, Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation, a community conservation organisation based at Mission Beach, Queensland.
C4 works to protect and restore cassowary habitat and the wider biodiversity of the Cassowary Coast. Its team brings local knowledge, on-ground experience, and a long-standing connection to the region.
As SquareBySquare grows, we aim to work with local conservation organisations in other parts of the world. Each project will be shaped by the land, the local partner, and the conservation work required there.
Protection is delivered through three connected layers.
C4 legally owns the land at Djarawong. Because the partner holds the title, it is responsible for how the land is managed.
Our agreement requires the land to be managed for conservation throughout the agreed protection period. For the current project, that period is a minimum of 10 years.
C4’s team monitors the land, manages weeds and erosion, restores habitat, and tracks wildlife. Protection depends on people carrying out this work on the ground.
You can request more information about our partner agreements by emailing hello@squarebysquare.org.
Every Square, on the record
Every protected square metre is public. Find any Square, see who protects it, and explore the project boundary for yourself.
Where your money goes
When you buy a Square, your contribution supports three areas.
Funding conservation partners to acquire, protect, restore, and care for important habitat.
Maintaining the live map, certificates, community tools, technology, and operations.
Helping more people discover SquareBySquare, which allows more conservation work to be funded.
We pay our conservation partner what is needed to protect and care for the land throughout the agreed protection period. The amounts differ between projects, and the split between the three areas is not fixed, because land values, stewardship needs, and conservation costs vary.
Right now, reaching new Protectors is our largest cost. SquareBySquare is still small, and introducing a new conservation model takes time and money. As more people find us through the community and word of mouth, that cost falls, and more can go to conservation and the technology that supports it.
As of June 2026, neither of us takes a salary from SquareBySquare. We cover our living costs through consulting work outside the company.
We plan to publish our first cost breakdown on this page from Q1 2027.
The model, explained by Henk and Emely in person.
Our rules for what we claim
- If we cannot verify a claim, we do not publish it.
- We describe impact as protecting land from clearing and development, supporting biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, and helping conservation organisations hold and manage land.
- We do not use carbon offsetting or neutrality claims.
- We do not position SquareBySquare as better than other conservation approaches. Nature protection requires many different models.
- We only promise the protection period that has been legally agreed and funded.
- We communicate changes to agreements and timeframes openly.
This land has been cared for far longer than SquareBySquare has existed
Every place we help protect has a history that began long before SquareBySquare.
Our current project at Djarawong is on Gulngai Country.
We believe local knowledge matters. That is one reason we work with conservation organisations that are based close to the land and understand its landscapes, wildlife, and communities.
Our understanding has also been shaped by Aboriginal Australian perspectives shared through our advisory conversations.
These conversations have helped us better understand caring for Country as an ongoing relationship with land, waters, community, and culture. They have reinforced that conservation is about responsibility, access, care, and connection, as well as legal ownership.
The questions people actually ask us
These are real questions from comments and messages, including the difficult ones.
Thoughtful skepticism matters in conservation. Please keep asking questions.
Is this a scam? How can I be sure?
Thanks for asking. We would check too.
SquareBySquare is a registered Australian business with ABN 81 663 847 498, and a member of Social Enterprise Australia.
The land at Djarawong is legally held by C4, an established local conservation organisation you can research independently. Every Square is visible on the public live map, and our names, faces, partner, and contact details are all on this page.
If something remains unclear, please tell us. We would rather answer the question directly than ask you to take our word for it.
Do I own the land? What exactly do I get?
The land is legally owned by our conservation partner and managed for protection. Your Square does not transfer land ownership, a title deed, or any land rights, and that is deliberate: it keeps control of the land with the organisation responsible for protecting it.
What you get is real and specific: your Square links you to a GPS-defined square metre within the protected area, records your support for its protection and stewardship, and appears on the live map alongside your certificate.
So no, it is not like naming a star. The land exists, the location is mapped, and the protection is supported by a formal agreement.
And if you subscribe monthly and later stop, the Squares already linked to you remain part of the protected project area and stay visible on the map.
How much of my money actually reaches the land?
The amount varies.
Each Square supports land protection and stewardship, the SquareBySquare platform, and the work needed to reach more Protectors.
Right now, reaching new people is our largest cost because SquareBySquare is still small and relatively unknown.
As that cost falls, we aim to direct more resources towards conservation and the technology needed to support additional projects.
You can find the full explanation in the money section above.
Why a for-profit and not a charity? Why not donate to C4 directly?
We want to build a conservation model that can support itself rather than depend only on donations. SquareBySquare is a for-profit, high-purpose business and a member of Social Enterprise Australia. We remain open to changing the structure if another one serves nature better in the future.
Direct donations to conservation organisations are valuable, and we encourage them. SquareBySquare adds something different: the technology, live map, certificates, and community that connect people to specific protected places, and help partners like C4 reach people who would never have found them.
What happens after the 10 years?
Our mission is lasting protection, and protecting land requires ongoing care and ongoing funding.
We only promise what has been contractually agreed and funded. For the current project, that is a minimum protection period of 10 years.
We are exploring longer agreements with conservation partners. When longer periods are formally secured, we will communicate them openly.
What happens if SquareBySquare shuts down?
The land is legally owned by C4, not by SquareBySquare.
C4 remains responsible for owning and managing the land under its conservation framework.
If SquareBySquare stopped operating, our platform, map, certificates, and community services could be affected.
The conservation agreement defines what happens to the protected land during the agreed protection period.
Is this carbon offsetting? Can I claim it against my footprint?
A Square supports the protection and stewardship of real habitat.
We describe this impact through land protection, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience.
SquareBySquare does not currently offer carbon offsets or carbon-neutrality claims.
Any impact data we publish will be supported by verified research or partner reporting.
Can I visit my Square? Can I live on it?
Live on it? Only if you're wildlife. The land is protected habitat and is managed for conservation.
Visiting is sometimes possible. The land is sensitive conservation habitat, so access is coordinated through C4 and depends on the needs of the land, wildlife, and conservation work. Email hello@squarebysquare.org and we will explain what may be possible.
You can always visit your Square on the live map.
Independent places you can verify us
These programs and references provide additional ways to check who we are.
Curiosity
We keep learning, asking questions, and exploring better ways to protect nature.
Compassion
We care about people, animals, communities, and the planet.
Creativity
We question familiar approaches and build practical new ways to support conservation.
Open Company
We aim to explain how SquareBySquare works and acknowledge what is still evolving.
Still have questions? Good.
We are happy to explain the structure, our conservation partner, our agreements, or anything on this page. Every message lands directly with the two of us.
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