Our world is ever-changing. As the years go by, we find new ways to modernise and alter the things that make up our surroundings. Places that were once green and luscious jungles have now been mowed down and replaced by towering drab and grey cement blocks.
The funny thing about human beings is that we work very hard to exploit and destroy the one thing that is vital to our survival— our very own planet Earth. If you’ve ever seen a picture of Earth clicked from space, you know that it is a gorgeous green and blue planet. I fear that in a few centuries, if not decades, this vibrant green will be replaced with a muddy barren brown instead. The only way to stop this nightmare from ever occurring is if we all work together as individuals to protect our environment for future generations to come. Just like every drop makes an ocean, every small act to help preserve your surroundings make a huge difference.
While we can’t control the need for urbanisation and rampant destruction of our green cover, we can do a small bit to compensate for the damage wrought. Aside from the regular reusing, reducing and recycling— that I’m sure we all follow by now— we can try and restore a small bit of mother nature by building micro forests.
If you’ve never heard about the term micro forest, let me explain it to you. Just like the name states, a micro forest is a small patch of unused land— perhaps extra space in your backyard or a few unused parking spots in your building complex— that is converted into a dense and personal mini forest.
A Japanese botanist named Akira Miyawaki designed this unique way to grow a forest in an urban landscape, thereby creating some much-needed vegetation. The Miyawaki method of forestation encourages the growth of various native species of trees that are planted close to each other on a small plot of land. Here the plants receive maximum sunlight only from the top and hence grow upwards rather than sideways. This ensures that your mini plantation grows around 30 times denser and 10 times faster, and becomes maintenance-free after a span of just 3 years.
Now the idea of growing a forest, even a small one, may be daunting and not very easy to follow if you live in an apartment or a city, but it’s definitely not impossible. Talk to the members of your society. Instead of having a boring lawn that no one uses, try maximizing the space around the buildings by growing more trees. If people are worried about the trees growing too big, you can always opt for a short variety of different trees. This added touch of greenery will help beautify your society and also help the well-being of those living there. After all, in a smoke-filled city, it’s always great to have an added boost of fresh clean O2.
If you live in a bungalow and have a backyard with a lawn, ask yourself if you really need the lawn. Is it just there to add an aesthetic touch to your house, or do you actually like sitting out on the lawn and relaxing? Wouldn’t it be much nicer to grow several different trees that will provide you with fresh, organic fruits in just a few years? Be it jackfruits, love-apples, mangoes, jamuns, breadfruit, tamarind, bananas or papaya— there are so many options to choose from! Plus, waking up to the sweet sound of birds chirping is a brilliant way to start off your day.
The amazing thing about micro forests is that you don’t actually require a lot of land to create one. In fact, according to the Miyawaki method, you can start with just 20 sq feet. So you see, taking up a cause such as growing a micro forest can be done by anyone and everyone.
I, along with the rest of the team here at Roadfolk Magazine, hope to inspire you and so many others to take up initiatives such as this. Not only do projects such as micro forests benefits this beautiful planet that we call home, but it greatly improves our very own mental and physical well-being.
If you’ve managed to grow a micro forest or if you have been inspired to do so by this article, we would love to share your story! Don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list so that you can receive an update every time we post a new story. Stay tuned to this space as we further explore micro forests in the months to come.
Written by Mohit Gupta
Week 28 July, 2021
