The Climate Change Collective is an initiative where the blogging community unites behind a common goal. Inspiration for this month’s lead post came from a program right here in my own community. Read on to learn about Sustainable Waterloo Region’s Microforest Planting Program, and how I recently got involved in the planting of one of these tiny forests.
Microforests – A tiny idea with big potential
As I sat down to write this month’s lead post for the Climate Change Collective, I was thinking a lot about the dire environmental news that seems to be everywhere these days. My first thought was to write about strategies to deal with climate anxiety. Then, something in my daily news digest shifted my focus to something more positive.
Kitchener microforest to feature trees, shrubs in memory of loved ones appeared in the Waterloo Region Record earlier this month. I first learned about microforests a few months ago when a piece in The Carbon Almanac’s daily email featured an initiative right here in my community—Sustainable Waterloo Region’s Microforest Planting Program. That email inspired me to learn more about this program and other similar programs around the world.
The history of microforests
Sustainable Waterloo Region reports a microforest is a small area of non-developable land returned to a natural state through the planting of native trees and shrubs. It can be as small as 500 square feet—roughly the size of a city building lot.
A microforest is a dense tiny forest with high biodiversity. Usually found in urban areas, these little forests attempt to replicate the multiple layers of plant and animal life found in larger forests, but on a much smaller scale. (Source: Earth.org)
These little forests aren’t a new idea. Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, pioneered the technique commonly used to develop these mini urban forests in the 1970s.
Miyawaki’s technique involves densely planting small patches of land with a variety of native species. Miyawaki forests grow into mature ecosystems in just 20 years, in contrast to the 200 years it takes for a forest to regenerate on its own. (Source: World Economic Forum)
What are the benefits of microforests?
Although microforests alone aren’t a solution to the rapid deforestation we’ve seen across the globe, they offer numerous environmental, social and economic benefits.
Think back to your elementary school science class when you learned that trees and plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. That’s what makes trees one of our best weapons in the fight against climate change.
Planting a tree is always a good thing for the environment. But these tiny forests also help the environment in other ways. (Source: Sustainable Waterloo Region)
- Microforests provide moisture and help climates to cool.
- Tiny forests improve soil conditions, helping other plants around them to grow well.
- Microforests provide a habitat for small creatures and insects.
- Finally, they contribute to biodiversity.
In addition to the environmental benefits, consider the social and economic benefits.
- Trees act as noise buffers in our neighbourhoods and they provide shade, cooling, and wind-reducing effects.
- Trees remove air pollutants so we can breathe cleaner, healthier air.
- Green spaces make our neighbourhoods look nicer and can enhance our mental wellbeing.
- Tiny forests can reduce flood areas and cut stormwater runoff.
- Microforest projects bring communities together and provide valuable learning opportunities.
Visiting a microforest
These mini forests are popping up in communities around the world. Here in Waterloo Region, you can find them in parks, on school properties, and business sites. Find the full list of local sites here.
I recently took the opportunity to visit one of our region’s newer microforests. It was planted in 2022 alongside a trail in the University of Waterloo’s Research and Technology Park.
Getting involved
If you want to get involved in a local microforest project, start with a quick online search to see if there are any local initiatives you can support. I had no idea this was happening right here in my own community.
During my research, I found information about a national mini forest pilot here in Canada on the Green Communities Canada website. In the U.K., Earthwatch has planted over 200 forests through their Tiny Forest program. Similar programs and initiatives exist in many countries around the world.
If you don’t find any existing initiatives, consider starting your own. The Aga Khan Foundation has a downloadable toolkit to help you plan your project. This could be a good initiative for your workplace, school, church, or other community group.
After reading the news article in the Waterloo Region Record, I learned the new microforest was a fundraiser for Bereaved Families of Ontario. After talking to my mum and my sisters, we decided to donate a tree in memory of my brother-in-law who recently passed away. He loved gardening and being outdoors, so it felt like a fitting and lasting tribute.
This new forest is located in Voisin Park in Kitchener. It’s the first one in our region located in a public park.
Planting day
On September 23, I participated in the planting and attended the dedication ceremony. We started with an empty field and 100 potted trees and shrubs of different species.
I choose an oak seedling to plant.
It was amazing to see people come together to do something positive for the environment and the community. In less than two hours, all the trees were planted.
A microforest was born.
These kinds of initiatives provide a glimmer of hope amid all the bleak news and are an example of a small thing that makes a difference. Experts say one of the best ways to deal with climate anxiety is to do something positive. (Source: Psychology Today) What better way to get involved than donating a tree or organizing a microforest in your community!
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
About the Climate Change Collective
The Climate Change Collective started after I left a comment on a blog post by Jamie Ad Stories. Jamie and I wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone, so I put out a tweet to see what kind of interest there would be in a climate-change-related blogging collaboration. The Climate Change Collective was born!
The members of the collective take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group keeps the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas.
If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. More voices joining the conversation means more attention to the problems plaguing our planet!
More Climate Change Collective posts
The Climate Change Collective series has been going strong for over two years. See Two years of the Climate Change Collective series for a recap of the posts we published in the first two years.
Recent posts in the series
- Is Climate Change Overlooked in Schools? – Jamie Ad Stories
Have you visited a microforest? Would you ever consider getting involved with a similar project in your community? Tell me your thoughts below.
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I like the idea of microforests, you can find them also in Brussels and they call it urban microforests. It gives the opportunity to biodiversity to thrive also in the cities. Thank you for spreading this idea!
Thanks Cristiana. Microforests are an idea with a lot of potential. I hope to see many more of these projects.
I love your list of benefits of green spaces. What a wonderful way to commemorate your brother-in-law! I look forward to seeing your forest grow over the years!! <3
Thanks Wynne. I’m excited to see the forest grow, too.
I need to talk to my boss about doing this at work. It is a really good idea and beneficial in many ways.
It is such a great initiative, Jamie. I was amazed at how quickly everything got done. We started about 10:15 a.m. All the trees were planted by 11:30. By 1:00, everything was watered, mulched, and cleaned up.
This is such a great idea and one I hope is increasingly replicated everywhere! It seems like such a lovely project to not only do something great for the environment but to also bring people together. Sometimes I get climate anxiety and worry so much about what we are seeing (and heading towards) so it’s nice to be reminded that there are things we can do and many people who are willing to help out. Lovely!
Thanks Molly. I have to admit it felt good to do something positive. All the bleak news definitely gets to me, too.
I love this idea, Michelle! Any optimism in the area of climate change lifts my spirits! Thanks for sharing! ☀️
Thanks Lisa. It is so important to highlight the good news on the climate change front, or we’ll sink into the depths of despair. Have you ever seen the site Happy Eco News? It’s fabulous and is full of this kind of stuff.
This is such a wonderful idea! I hope the memorial microforest flourishes, and that you will be able to post updates (photos) over the years.
I think trees are just amazing. Every time someone writes about using solar power to cool our homes and capture CO2, I think: trees!
It’s so easy to take trees for granted, isn’t it? Yet, they are wonderful things and such an important part of our ecosystem. It makes me want to scream when I hear of all the deforestation that has taken place simply to fuel our desire for consumption.
I will definitely post updates on how our lovely microforest is doing!
This is a fantastic initiative! That’s amazing you got to participate in a microforest planting, and it is lovely you planted the tree in memory of your brother-in-law. I also love the picture of you with the oak seedling! I’ll have to see if there are similar microforest initiatives in Denmark.
Thanks Karalee! Planting the microforest was a rewarding and inspirational experience. Denmark seems to be very progressive, so I hope you’ll have good luck finding a microforest initiative.
The concept of a Tiny Forest is so cool! I recently read The Future We Choose (highly recommend) and they talk about how there’s actually 900 million hectares available for reforestation, and that would absorb nearly 70% of CO2 we have emitted since the Industrial Revolution. I can’t get over that fact, so we definitely all need to be planting trees. There isn’t a Tiny Forest near me, but I will definitely be looking into a way I can contribute.
Thanks, Caroline. Yes, trees really are magical when you think about it. There are just so many benefits to planting them. That is an amazing statistic. I will have to look into that book.
In two hour all of those native plants were in the ground! Wow! I love that you planted an oak tree in honor of your brother-in-law. A terrific way to be remembered! And are there plans for folks to water these newly planted allies? Maybe you can fill up a couple of empty apple cider jugs with water and bike over there to water your brother-in-law’s tree from time to time…
It really is a great initiative and being part of it was such a positive and uplifting experience. I think the organizations that oversee the project looks after watering. We’re headed toward winter so it shouldn’t be a problem for the next few months.
Cheers to all of this…your photos provide ample encouragement, Michelle! I love that you were able to capture a photo of you with ‘your seedling’. Well done! Forests are magic…on so many levels. 😎
They really are, and the idea behind this one to honour those who have died was just so brilliant. My sister was very touched when I told her what we had done. Her husband would have loved it!
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Such an important project Michelle! Kudos to your community for stepping up. I hope it continues. I like the concept of planting for someone else, in their memory. It makes the effort even more special. Lots of places use the term rewilding- not only planting a few starter items but then simply encouraging natural growth to fill in. I was glad to see that after my small town finished their major road project they came back with street trees which had been missing for years.
Thanks Deb. I loved the idea of a microforest, but a memorial microforest was such a brilliant idea. A lasting tribute that we can go and visit any time we want. It is so important to preserve and encourage green spaces in our communities.
What an amazing project! And a lovely way to do something in memory of your brother-in-law. Ideas and movements like micro forests really do give a bit of hope for the climate crisis. I’ll have to look and see if there are any of these near me. I know that there is an urban food forest in Vancouver, which was planted to help fight food poverty, but has the added benefit of helping the environment.
I have been researching microforests for a while and was so excited to hear about this project. It really was an amazing experience being part of the planting. I look forward to going back to visit the space regularly and seeing our forest grow.