As much as many of us would like to speed up time during these frigid, leafless months to get to spring faster, that’s not going to happen. Nor can we slow down the clock once summer is here.
But there is a way to fast-track some natural phenomena. After exhaustively researching pockets of intact ancient forest surrounding village Shinto shrines in his native Japan, plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki (1928-2021) figured out that a mature climax forest could be grown on barren ground in relatively small plots in mere decades, given the right starting ingredients. Naturally, a process of succession through various stages of plant communities happens over larger areas and takes centuries. He promoted his concept across the globe, and in the last few decades, Toyota and other industrial plants, shopping malls, campuses, and communities have embraced his method to plant nurseries of saplings that grow in record time.
The key to a successful Miyawaki mini-forest planting is preparing the soil and thoroughly understanding the likely species that populated the forest community at the site before human influence. Weeding and supplemental watering is required in the first few years, too. But after that, humans step aside and watch the time machine ramp up to produce a full-fledged forest, with all its carbon-absorbing, air-cleaning, stormwater sponging, and habitat-providing superpowers. Wildflower garden beats lawn, but mini-forest trounces both.
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Conventionally, tree planting — for landscaping, lumber, Christmas trees — involves plenty of spacing. The idea is to minimize competition and allow machinery access to prune, fertilize, treat for pests, and harvest. A Miyawaki forest, in contrast, is planted extremely densely to encourage competition, with a standard planting density of three to five saplings per square meter. Everyone is throwing shade, and only the speedy will make it. All the while, leaf mulch builds on the forest floor, naturally fertilizing the understory plants (which are part of the initial planting). Diverse tree species growing close together are also more likely to harbor a healthy community of soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi than are lonely trees planted far apart. These unseen partners improve tree health, allowing the roots to absorb more water and fend off pathogens, for example.
The idea to plant a Miyawaki forest in Belmont began less than a year ago from Belmont resident Ranganath Nayak. He had observed the planting of two mini-forests supported by the City of Cambridge and Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, in Danehy Park and Greene-Rose Heritage Park (shown in the photos). Belmont’s mini-forest is planned for the high school campus. Last fall, the project proposal was submitted by a group of town citizens called Miyawaki Forest Action Belmont (MFAB), with Superintendent Jill Geiser and School Committee Chair Megan Moriarty as co-applicants. Currently, MFAB is awaiting word on grant money and fundraising through private channels.
Principal Isaac Taylor is an enthusiastic supporter of the project. At his suggestion, high school senior Holly Kong presented the proposal last fall to the high school and upper middle school science faculty, where it was well received. The high school’s Climate Action Club will be involved in the maintenance required in early years. The forest will provide educational opportunities in science, natural history, conservation, and urban planning for students of all ages, and is likely to inspire arts and humanities curricula, too.
When I spoke with Mr. Nayak and Michelle Oishi, another member of MFAB, they mentioned how welcoming and supportive town officials, especially Jay Marcotte, Head of the Department of Public Works, have been throughout the process.
“The amount of positivity has been amazing,” Oishi said. In true Miyawaki fashion, the project is developing on a fast timeline. Oishi found out about it last August and felt the idea had been “shot out of cannon,” such was the momentum and enthusiasm behind it.
Planting day is planned for this fall, and MFAB hopes it will be an event much like a community “barn-raising,” involving at least 100 volunteers. Until then, MFAB will be carefully selecting and sourcing the plants. The forest will likely displace the current native plant garden, but those plants will either be moved to the forest edge to function as a collar that will help contain the leaf litter, or to a new site on campus. Look out for updates in Garden Gems this summer, then join the forest-making and watch the trees rise.
Please visit bio4climate.org/miyawaki-forest-program/belmont-high-school-microforest/ for more information about the project.
Jenny has been gardening in Belmont since 2001 and became a member of the Belmont Garden Club in 2019. From 2010 – 2013 she was the volunteer editor for the Belmont Farmers’ Market newsletter, “Roots & Sprouts.”
