WHO KNEW You Can Plant a Forest in Your Backyard?

They’re called Miyawaki forests, or mini forests, or micro forests, or pocket forests. The Miyawaki name comes from a Japanese botanist, Akira Miyawaki. In the 1970s, Miyawaki was concerned about the worldwide decline of natural forests, so he developed a method of growing new forests in areas of poor and degraded soil by enriching the ground with mulch and organic matter. Using only indigenous trees and shrubs, the prepared area is planted with a host of diverse saplings. The densely planted area, which can be as small as 10 x 10 feet, is watered and weeded for the first couple of years, but, after that, it grows exponentially and requires little to no maintenance.

The prepared soil, combined with the root systems of a diverse variety of native plants, quickly becomes a web of interconnected mycelium—a fungus whose thready strands form a dense network beneath the soil which helps to transport water and nutrients to and fro, benefitting the many trees and shrubs.

Despite the green of the well-tended lawn, this monocultural lawn offers little in the way of biodiversity, habitat, carbon sequestration, or ecological value. It guzzles water, without absorbing it deep into the ground, and requires endless amounts of energy and possible pollutants to keep it mowed, trimmed, fertilized and weed free.

The opposite is true of the Miyawaki forest. Its dense growth quickly becomes a habitat haven. The deeply penetrating roots of its shrubs and trees, combined with their rapid growth, helps to sequester carbon—an essential ingredient for soil health—and retain water. Once established, the forest needs no watering, feeding, or human intervention. A makeshift fence to keep out the deer while the plants get established is probably a good idea.

Many references exist online demonstrating the success of Miyawaki forests globally. Here is a great video of a successful forest created in the Netherlands: https://www.issaquahalps.org/miyawaki Scroll down for the 9 minute video.

Maybe there’s room for a mini forest in your yard, or in our community!