pocket forests

The pocket or tiny forest started up as a small project in Japan some twenty years ago:

The small-footprint projects are based on the work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who, beginning in the 1970s, pioneered a method of planting young indigenous species close together to quickly regenerate forests on degraded land. Miyawaki, who extensively studied and catalogued the vegetation of Japan, surveyed forests near potential Tiny Forest sites for a mixture of their main species. “The planting should center on the primary trees of the location, and following the laws of the natural forest,” he wrote in a 2006 essay upon accepting the Blue Planet award.

And now Japan’s tiny forests are thriving in Britain:

They are essentially about creating woodland in urban areas – and the point is that they are super tiny. super powerful:

Tiny Forest brings the benefits of woodland right into the heart of our cities and urban spaces: connecting people with nature, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change, as well as providing nature-rich habitat to support urban wildlife.

But they are happening everywhere:

Introducing Toronto’s Newest Tiny Forest - Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)

The Big Apple gets a tiny forest: 1,000 native plants coming to New York | New York | The Guardian

Urban forests and promotion of native ecosystems in São Paulo, Brazil | Oppla

How Japan’s tiny forests are helping cool India’s heat islands in major cities like Mumbai and Chennai | South China Morning Post

Tiny Forest documentary about the effects of the Miyawaki method in the Netherlands - YouTube

Are these happening in your own town or city?

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