Reforesting Western’s Future

Through hard work and research, Western Washington University’s LEAD club creates a mini-forest using an alternative planting method.

A mushroom grows among the other plant species behind Western’s campus. // Photo by Nikoli Habek

June 2, 2023

Story by Reed Chesnek

On Earth Day 2023, volunteers of all ages trickled into a Western Washington University parking lot. After grabbing gloves and shovels, they headed down in teams to the empty worksite on the north end of the campus. The smell of fresh soil filled the cool air. After a quick introduction and demonstration, everyone was eager to get to work planting hundreds of shrubs and tree saplings. These will soon grow into the first Miyawaki forest in Whatcom County.

Old-growth forests help fight the effects of climate change by providing essential resources for surrounding habitats and storing large amounts of carbon. The Miyawaki method of reforestation may be the solution to this problem.

The Miyawaki method

The Miyawaki method is a solution to decreasing tree cover worldwide. It is a reforestation technique where trees are densely planted in urban areas to create a diverse forest in a short period of time. 

The method's creator, Akira Miyawaki, was a botanist who saw the impacts of deforestation and pollution while Japan was quickly urbanizing in the 1930s and 40s. Miyawaki noticed a difference between untouched and newer forests surrounding shrines. Miyawaki combined this observation with his study of natural ecosystems if there were no impacts of urbanization, deforestation or agriculture on the land.

Miyawaki created a method of planting native species to restore the forests and his work spread worldwide.

Roughly five thousand miles away from Japan, the Pacific Northwest has a reputation of being heavily forested.

“It might seem like we're loaded with trees here, but actually, we have been losing tree canopy significantly over the last several decades,” said Michael Feerer, executive director of Whatcom Million Trees Project.

This nonprofit project organizes volunteer work parties that remove invasive species and plant saplings to protect mature forests in Whatcom County.

A quarter of the land surface on Earth is covered by forests, but 82% of them are degraded to some degree according to Hannah Lewis, author of “Mini-Forest Revolution”. 

These forests are enduring degradation due to higher temperatures, unpredictable weather, illegal logging and increased pests attributed to climate change. This puts stress on the world's forest health until it can no longer support people and wildlife.

It is important to protect tree canopy – especially in urban areas – because it moderates high temperatures which have increasingly posed a threat to human health, according to a study on tree canopy loss. The higher the tree canopy coverage, the lower the urban temperature, which reduces energy use in cities.

An ivy-covered tree in the Sehome Arboretum behind Western’s campus. // Photo by Nikoli Habek

Many cities worldwide are increasing the amount of vegetation in urban areas as a response to climate change, and although this is preferable to bare ground, they do not provide the ecological services that an old-growth forest can, according to Lewis. 

Forests absorb about 2.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is equivalent to one-third of carbon dioxide released from a year's worth of fossil fuel emissions.

When done correctly, Miyawaki forests can reach their peak stage anytime from 15 to 40 years, according to a presentation by Lewis at Western. A forest in its peak stage has a stable composition of species that are well-developed to fit the local conditions and adapt to change. It can take forests hundreds to thousands of years to reach this stage naturally.

Single-species forests lack the high carbon dioxide absorption rates that Miyawaki forests have in their early years. The guaranteed minimum growth rate of a Miywaki forest is about one yard of new growth per year, according to a study. All of this growth requires carbon, which the young plants pull from the air and cycle back into the environment.

A mini-forest at Western

After a viral Ted Talk describing the Miyawaki method and its benefits, similar projects started popping up. Western’s LEAD club spearheaded the project and organizers are hoping it will prove how effective the method can be to other organizations in the area.

The LEAD club has been active in Western’s College of the Environment since the 1990s, but this is the first time they have utilized anything like the Miyawaki method in their work.

“[LEAD] struggled with finding consistency, it's been a lot of just going to a spot, removing some nonnative species, going to another spot and it feels a little bit futile,” said LEAD Co-Director Brandon McWilliams. “We wanted to have a longer-term project that we could focus on and give people something to work toward and see progress.”

Ava Stone, a co-director of the club, heard about the method while doing research for her thesis. 

Finding a site was the easiest part. The former head gardener at Western had just learned the school was responsible for taking care of a plot of land on the north side of campus, said McWilliams. It had been left untended and was riddled with 20 years' worth of non-native plants like Himalayan blackberry, Clematis and English Ivy. Stone and McWilliams were told, “do your best.”

Only shade-tolerant and long-living species allow the method to truly work. These are found in the forest’s final stage, but figuring out which species these are is more elusive than it sounds. 

The project managers must first look at nearby forests and study what has been growing. In areas that have had much of their native vegetation wiped out by drought or agriculture, historical texts or art can show what was naturally growing in the region, according to “Mini-Forest Revolution. 

The next steps involve more research, willing volunteers and lots of hard work. First, diving deep into the soil type to find out what species can be planted there. 

LEAD interns consulted experts and professionals from a number of organizations during the species decision process. 

Soil prep is another step necessary for the Miyawaki method to work. The speed of Miyawaki forest growth is due to skipping the years it takes for plants to prepare the soil. 

LEFT: Volunteers remove invasive plant species off the native plants. // Photo courtesy of Brandon McWilliams

In September,  a crucial six-month-long process began to prepare the site for the future forest. The dense blackberry thicket had to be slowly removed and stumps pulled. LEAD started a compost pile with local cow manure, which is high in organic materials and nutrients, to fertilize the soil for future planting.

The climax of the project was planting day. LEAD hosted Whatcom Million Trees Project, Washington Conservation Corps and the City of Bellingham. Everyone came together to plant over 1,000 native trees and shrubs.

Community engagement is at the core of the Miyawaki Method, according to Lewis. The fact that the plants are small, light and simple to plant, even for a young child, makes the method well-suited for participation. 

Once the trees are planted, they only require regular maintenance for the first two to three years to ensure their survival and growth. This involves watering the trees regularly, removing any weeds or competing vegetation and protecting the trees from pests and diseases, according to “Mini-Forest Revolution”.

In three years, the young trees will have developed enough canopy to shade out weeds and produce a microclimate that shields the interior from extreme weather conditions, according to Lewis. Once the forest creates a thick canopy, it becomes self-sufficient and will no longer require upkeep. 

Following a Miyawaki forest’s initial planting, it can be expected to reduce local temperatures up to 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit, improve air quality by reducing pollutants and capture carbon. This creates a natural oasis for invertebrates and birds, as explained by Creating Tomorrow’s Forest, a commercial reforestation company working in the United Kingdom.

Zooming out

The Miyawaki method has been used on many other campuses across the world. One of these schools is The Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon, which planted 600 native plants on a 100 by 20-foot lot in 2022.

Patrick Walsh, a social studies teacher and a member of the sustainability committee at Catlin Gabel, introduced the method to his class of seniors. The seniors took on the project, getting funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

With the funding, it became a full school undertaking. The students, grades sixth to twelfth, and grounds crew plowed the soil and worked in compost while first graders painted signs to label the trees, according to CatlinSpeak, the student-run newspaper at the school. 

The forest is only a little over a year old, and it is still too early to see the major benefits that Miyawaki forests are known for, according to Patrick Walsh 

“The changes are in the students and the culture of the school. There is, among some students, more awareness of native plants, of Indigenous uses for some of the plants and for the history of the land the school sits on,” Walsh said.

Caring for the land starts right where you are, Lewis said in her presentation at Western.

“The beauty of it is that it is a framework more than anything, it's not necessarily prescriptive. So it gives steps and guidelines, but it's designed to be implemented in the context of each individual environment,” McWilliams said. “I think it has the potential to be applied in a lot of different contexts around Whatcom and Western Washington.”

Reed Chesnek is a sophomore at Western majoring in environmental studies and Spanish with a minor in environmental policy.

Nikoli Habek is a junior environmental studies student at Western’s College of the Environment. This is his first quarter photographing for The Planet.