The mighty benefits of 'tiny forests'

In vacant lots, neglected parks and patches of land along busy stretches of road, residents are gathering to plant trees — lots of them, close together.

"Tiny forests," which originated in Japan, are popping up across Canada and around the world.

"We're trying to give nature back some space," said Jorge Rojas-Arias, a project manager at Arbre Évolution, a tree-planting co-operative in Montreal.

His organization has helped with several tiny forest projects in the Montreal area and, over two days late last fall, another at the campus of John Abbott College in a west-end suburb.

In total, about 600 trees and shrubs — blue beech, swamp birch, balsam fir and two species of oak among them — were planted in an area about the size of a tennis court.

That works out to three trees for every square metre of land.

The tiny forests concept is simple allure in overheated, concrete-heavy cities: Assemble a group of volunteers, clear a plot of land and prepare the soil. 

Then, plant a variety of native shrubs and trees in a small area — and watch them grow.

In their early years, the trees and shrubs grow quickly as they fight for light. Because of that, research suggests they capture more carbon, more quickly than in conventional tree planting.

Tiny forests also require little maintenance and weeding after the first few years, and quickly become a dense, multi-layered habitat for birds, butterflies and insects.

"It's a small area with a lot of ecological benefits," said Chris Levesque, a biology teacher who organized the planting at John Abbott.

Sharon MacGougan, head of the Garden City Conservation Society in Richmond, B.C., near Vancouver, where there are already four tiny forests, said the benefits aren't only ecological.

"More than that, there's a joyousness about it," she said. "It's really good for public engagement and conservation at the same time."

The method originated with Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who was inspired by the protected old trees around his home country's religious shrines.