MICROFORESTS BLOG AND NEWS

The Tree Council, in partnership with Natural England, five local authorities, DEFRA and FERA recently published some excellent research into using the Miyawaki planting technique as part of their Urban Trees Establishment project. 

It's robust research, looking at 9,481 trees planted across 16 different sites. The results show that on average (I've used the Mean average, Median average is also available and tells a similar story) survival rates using the Miyawaki planting method when compared to traditional planting techniques are much higher (79% vs 47%) and consequently the average cost per survived tree is much lower (£16.97 vs £79.38). 

The research provides validation for using the Miyawaki technique, particularly in more urban environments where traditional planting can struggle. Another thing I really liked about the report is the openness about the uncertain future of new the Miyawaki forests (page 28 of the Tree Council's pdf) and whether there might be thinning over time to create a natural canopy or whether the trees might grow tall and thin and be susceptible to wind damage. Either way, the results are encouraging, especially in the short term. 

You can download the full report here. I've also made a quick infographic that summarises some of the major headlines which you can download below.

The Horniman Museum in South East London (nearest station Forest Hill) and the musuem's gardens are bordered by the busy A205. To help shield the gardens from the road noise, the museum planted a microforest (about 20 metres x 80 metres) along the boundary of the grounds. There's a white van on the road in the photo which shows you how close the road is to the planting. There's a really comprehensive case study on the Horniman's site. 

One of the interesting things that the museum did was to try to future proof the planting by thinking about the impacts of climate change. The museum's Head of Horticulture Errol Reuben Fernandes said "With climate change in mind and the climate in London predicted to be similar to that of Barcelona by 2050, we also included species from further afield. These trees have been selected for their ability to withstand a reduction in rainfall and an increase in temperatures". This is a really interesting approach and although it means that some of the planting won't be as beneficial to insects and birds because it's not native, there are plenty of native species on show too and the mix of plants used might make the forest more resilient over time. 

There's a path through the microforest which is currently closed to the public, but a super helpful member of the team at the museum explained that they did plan to open this once the trees were fully established. The microforest is well worth a visit and sits nicely alongside the other features in the museum's gardens. 

If you have a microforest in your garden, community or school then please share details and photos by emailing tim@microforests.co.uk

There's a really nice case study online from Scotscape about a microforest that they planted for a community in North London at Barnard Park in Islington. The forest was planted in March 2022 and I visited just over two years later in May 2024. As the case study details, the site is about 400 square meters within a grass area of the park that is used by dog walkers (if you're visiting, the park is actually split by a road and the micro forest is in the smaller section, further away from Angel tube station, which is about a 10 minute walk). 

The case study online includes some nice videos and a helpful plant list, when I visited it looked like two new specimen trees had also been added. The forest was very well established with lots of growth in addition to the original planting, including what looked like the wild flower Small Pheasant's eye which attracted lots of bees. 

The additional growth at Barnard Park provokes an interesting talking point for microforests, obviously they're intended to be natural, but also need proactive management for the first two to three years to ensure success. There's a fine balance between leaving things to develop naturally in order to let nature thrive and intervening (for example through weeding) to ensure the planted species establish effectively. But whatever your view, Barnard Park has certainly achieved its objective of creating a haven for wildlife in a relatively urban setting. 

If you have a microforest in your garden, community or school then please share details and photos by emailing tim@microforests.co.uk

The Southbank Centre in London has planted a microforest in a previously unused space opposite the Hayward Gallery. They increased the height of the walls surrounding the area (about the size of a tennis court), lined it with a waterproof liner and filled the space with soil before planting native species. 

There's some useful information about the forest, including the species that they've used and the fact that they've used the Miyawaki method for planting.

Because it's in a built up area area that's protected from frost and winds when I last walked past in early 2024, the deciduous trees hadn't lost their leaves, long after the leaves from the same species in more exposed areas would have fallen. 

More news on other UK microforests coming soon. If you have a microforest in your garden, community or school then please share details and photos by emailing tim@microforests.co.uk.