Miyawaki: A little forest with a towering task

A Japanese method of planting fast-growing native forests is spreading worldwide. How it brings “grounded hope” to one of its U.S. practitioners, and nurtures a sense of community around its sites.

The tiny forest packs 900 saplings into 1,400 square feet. It’s expected to shoot up like its sister forest planted nearby a year earlier, and become self-sufficient a few years after planting. Its 50 native plant species not only sequester carbon and cool the air, but also support insects, a crucial part of the local ecosystem, says Amy Mertl, an entomologist at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The forest, planted by the city government, environmentalists, and residents, is a Miyawaki forest. First introduced in Japan, the dense, multilayered plantation of native plants aims to fully re-create growth that existed before deforestation. 

“The overarching goal is to help nature regenerate more quickly than it would without our help,” says professional forest-planter Ethan Bryson, a consultant for Cambridge’s Miyawaki forest project. Hundreds of Miyawaki forests have been planted worldwide in recent years, according to Hannah Lewis, author of a book about them.

The two Miyawaki forests in Cambridge are the first in the northeastern United States, says Maya Dutta, who managed both planting projects. A software developer-turned-environmental activist, Ms. Dutta is the assistant director of regenerative projects at Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, a group that teaches people about ecological restoration. She used to fear – and avoid – environmental issues, she says, but her current work has given her “grounded hope.” 

“As you do restoration on a landscape, you can start to see [beneficial] effects take place in a matter of years,” she says. “There are actual pathways to a future in which I can live and have a good life.”

Note: Jing joined the Monitor’s “Why We Wrote This” podcast to talk about the creation of this video, and about his other work.