Hong Kong children help green group create city’s first ‘tiny forest’ to beat the heat

On a blazing hot Monday morning in August, environmentalist Camilla Zanzanaini led a group of schoolchildren, each holding a tree sapling, a shovel and some wood chips, onto a small fenced-in plot. Then – at first tentatively, but with increasing enthusiasm – the unlikely landscaping crew set to planting the city’s first “tiny forest”, using a method pioneered by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. “He studied forests for 30 years and found if you plant native species very densely, they will start supporting each other, so you’re actually planting a forest,” said the 36-year-old founder of the social enterprise Nature Makers Lab. She and her team of young volunteers from the International College Hong Kong Hong Lok Yuen in Tai Po spent three days planting more than 300 native trees in a narrow 100 square metre plot smaller than a tennis court at the end of their school field. The plants included ficuses, camphor and Chinese banyan sourced from the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in the New Territories. “It’s different from conventional tree planting, which usually is only one or two species, or might not include native species,” said Zanzanaini, who was born and raised in Hong Kong. The pupils, aged eight to 12, will monitor the growth of the forest over the next two years and record any new animals and insects that make their home there. Teacher Chau Ho-mei, the school’s outdoor learning leader, said he hoped that different animal species would turn up and provide the children more opportunities to learn. Developers focus on green buildings to meet climate goals, rising demand “The connection to the environment is really important, and having our own little forest will give them ownership and a connection with nature,” he said. The tiny forest is the first major project by Zanzanaini’s social enterprise, which was set up this year to help Hong Kong increase its biodiversity, and she hopes to get more schools on board. Miyawaki, who died in July, aged 93, developed his reforestation method in the 1980s, drawing inspiration from Japan’s Chinju no mori – the sacred forests cultivated as pockets of urban serenity around Shinto shrines and graveyards. His method uses trees and plants of differing heights to mimic the natural structure of a forest, which generally has four layers, from the tallest trees which rise above the rest, to the shrubs and ferns at the bottom. Each layer offers a different type of habitat attracting many different species, from insects to birds. In 2006, Miyawaki received the Blue Planet award for environmental conservation, a prize from a foundation set up by Japan’s Asahi Glass Company for individuals and organisations doing sustainability research. The botanist went on to help restore tropical rainforests in Malaysia, and his “Miyawaki method” was adopted in countries such as Britain, Italy, France and Turkey. In recent years, dense, hot Indian cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore have used it to bring back greenery and reduce the heat island effect, in which buildings and asphalt trap heat within urban areas. Hong Kong ‘must expand recycling efforts for charging scheme to work’ Zanzanaini is hoping Miyawaki forests will catch on in the city to help with the soaring temperatures. There were 47 “very hot days” and 50 “hot nights” last year, the highest numbers since Hong Kong began tracking the city’s mean temperature in 1885. Very hot days are defined as having a maximum daily temperature of 33 degrees Celsius and above, while hot nights are those when the temperature does not fall below 28 degrees. “One grown tree can be as effective as 10 air conditioners. In theory, a forest should be able to cool down the area around it by up to 5 degrees Celsius,” Zanzanaini said. As the tiny forests did not need large spaces, the method was particularly well suited to a dense city like Hong Kong, and could be introduced within parks or even roundabouts, she added. The Development Bureau said it supported efforts by the private sector and community to improve the city’s green environment but added that it would be a challenge to replicate the Miyawaki forest exactly in the city’s dense urban areas and spaces with inadequate soil. It said the tiny forests would need proper management to minimise the risk to public safety from falling trees, and added that Hongkongers preferred “well-maintained and accessible green space for their enjoyment”. Instead, the bureau uses a similar approach to grow native plants in small areas on hillsides for slope stabilisation, planting more than 28,000 trees a year on average over the past five years. Urban ecology expert and Hong Kong “tree daddy” Professor Jim Chi-yung of Education University said he felt the authorities could do better and that there was a lack of innovation. ‘Mountains of waste’ at New Territories sites meant for development “People always say there’s no space here to plant forests,” he said. “European countries and Japan always save a parcel of land in parks to plant forests. If you set aside just one of Victoria Park’s 10 hectares for a forest, residents will be delighted.” Jim acknowledged the challenge of sourcing native species and ensuring that the trees could withstand typhoons, but said urban forestry was a classic solution to cooling the city. University of Hong Kong ecologist Billy Hau Chi-hang said anyone attempting to plant forests in the city should consider setting up a community nursery to ensure a steady source of saplings and avoid introducing pests and genetic issues among rarer tree species. The Miyawaki forest helped to generate interest, but he added: “You don’t need a method to set up pocket forests in Hong Kong, you just need to do it properly.”

Hong Kong children help green group create city’s first ‘tiny forest’ to beat the heat

‘Miyawaki method’ of planting native species on small plots helps to cool urban surroundings Children will track growth of forest in Tai Po school to see if it attracts birds, insects

‘Miyawaki method’ of planting native species on small plots helps to cool urban surroundings

Children will track growth of forest in Tai Po school to see if it attracts birds, insects