Frequently Asked Questions

---

Yes, we would love your help!  Our most pressing need is for people to commit to water a quadrant of the Buhr Park forest at least once this growing season--many hands make light work!  Just go to this link for our Watering Brigade sign-up to find the week(s) that work best for you: TinyURL/waterbrigade.  There you will also find a link to our guidelines for watering.  We thank you and the trees will thank you too!

Yes!  Just send an email to Joan Martin (riverjoanie@gmail.com) and tell her how you would like to help. We are looking for people to tell us what they see and which of the three plots they saw it in. (It is also interesting to learn about any activity outside of the Forest.) Joan will tell you how to send your information to us. 

In the future, once the trees are larger, we are planning to use the iNaturalist app for you to record photos in the forest, contributing to a huge database of observations of living things, and enabling us to make comparisons between the different forest types.

There are many different Miyawaki-inspired approaches in practice around the world (see examples of handbooks, below), but for some general guidelines that we have found valuable, please see this document.

Douglas Tallamy's Homegrown National Park website links to lots of great plant-finder tools.  Or, simply  do a web search for "Trees and shrubs native to my area."

Keystone plants are native plants critical to the food web and necessary for many wildlife species to complete their life cycle. Without keystone plants in the landscape, butterflies, native bees, and birds will not thrive. 96% of our terrestrial birds rely on insects supported by keystone plants.  For a list of  plants that are keystone in your area, scroll down on this page.

Do a web search for "Native tree nurseries in my area."  In Southeast Michigan, the Ann Arbor Wild Ones website lists a lot of options.

Here are a few examples:

• Hamilton, Ontario
• Blog post with valuable details on Hamilton's strategies
• Network of Nature, Canada
• Netherlands
• Los Angeles
• Forest Creators
• Afforestt training video series (Thoroughly illustrated, including the steps and details.)

Yes!  Check out our Pocket Forest Principles, which can be utilized most anywhere.

It doesn't need to be!  Native tree and shrub saplings can be purchased from county conservation districts for just less than a few dollars a piece.  And keep an eye out for native "volunteers" that sprout up in your yard--they are free!  But when it comes to soil preparation, that can get expensive.  Some people till the soil deeply with large machines, and mix it with compost, before planting their Miyawaki-inspired forest.   But another method (used in Canada, especially) is to layer cardboard on top of the lawn, add compost and mulch on top of that, and let sit for months until the grass and cardboard layers have decomposed enough to plant through them.   

Yes.  For instance, check out the excellent info in this document:

City of Berkeley Budget Referral Miyawaki Pocket Forests.

The forests planted nearly 50 years ago in Japan are doing well.  The Report on studying Miyawaki Forests in Belgium, is the most thorough research study we’ve seen, although it doesn’t specify how the sites were prepared. (People sometimes adapt Miyawaki’s method, especially when it comes to site preparation, as it is expensive to hire machines to till the soil a meter deep.)  It will be useful to share data, noting methods used, and compare results as time goes by.  Our group is attempting to reach folks who have planted mini-forests to network and share data.  If you are such a grower, please contact us!

Check out this great resource about the vital importance of native species to our ecosystems.

• HEALTHIER FOR THE PLANET
  • We need to plant trees to sequester carbon and lower urban temperatures, and native trees are more resilient and support more insects, and thus more birds and other wildlife–so why not plant natives?   
  • The Miyawaki Method is a movement that is inspiring people across the globe to plant native trees in greater numbers than ever before.
• HEALTHIER FOR TREES
  • It may not be right everywhere, but planting in mini-forests (vs. single trees surrounded by grass) 
    • Protects trees from weed whackers–a major threat to urban trees. 
    • Allows trees to benefit from the mycorrhizal interactions in roots underground.
    • Preserves moisture through dense shade and build-up of humus.
    • Improves survival rates.  Even though some of the saplings will eventually die due to natural thinning, overall survival rates are better than in traditional plantings.
• HEALTHIER FOR PEOPLE
  • Tree canopy has many proven social, psychological, and economic benefits, and lower-income neighborhoods have less of it than wealthy neighborhoods, so lack of trees is an equity issue.  Pocket forests are not a big investment, and after the first few years, maintenance is minimal.  

• Where intact, healthy ecosystems already exist.
  • They are most appropriate in ecologically degraded sites, e.g. as replacements for lawn or invasive species.
• Where it will be hard to provide water (which is needed the first few years).
• Where it will not receive sun as least part of the day.
• Where a dense wall of green is not desired.
  • After a few years of growth, the closely-spaced layers of leaves will achieve their goal of keeping moisture in and weeds down--just be aware the "look" is different than a widely-spaced planting.  If walking in the forest is desired, include a broad path within in the planting design!

• Check out our 2-minute video for examples of damage and ways to prevent it.