by Steve Cronkite
The Middletown Urban Forestry Commission (UFC) has been endeavoring to install a Miyawaki-style micro-forest in town for over two years. They are therefore thrilled to announce that on November 8th, with the help of 20 hard-working volunteers, they planted 99 donated native trees and shrubs and one native perennial in a Miyawaki-style micro-forest on the southeast corner of Van Buren Moody Elementary School on Country Club Road in Middletown. Named after its Japanese innovator, a Miyawaki-style micro-forest is created when a community of native trees and shrubs is densely planted on a small, urban plot of land. The vegetation is initially planted more densely than would be found in a typical forest setting, in order to jump start the forest and suppress invasive species. Over time, as the plants grow, nature takes its course and the strongest survive to reach maturity.
Thirty-four native species were planted in the Moody Elementary School micro-forest: common hackberry, nannyberry viburnum, red maple, sugar maple, basswood, sycamore, cottonwood, ironwood, bitternut hickory, pignut hickory, chestnut, yellow buckeye, kentucky coffeetree, sweetgum, blackgum, hearts-a-burstin, spicebush, ninebark, paper birch, black birch, yellow birch, white oak, red oak, scarlet oak, shingle oak, bur oak, chestnut oak, swamp chestnut oak, pitch pine, American elm, American holly, American hazelnut, pawpaw and one eastern blue star perennial. While a true “Miyawaki” forest typically includes deep mechanical soil tilling, significant soil amendments, and 2-to-3-foot spacing, this project took a lighter approach by hand-incorporating locally sourced compost and using wider plant spacing. The microforest is a “Miyawaki Lite,” with reduced cost, effort, and carbon input. Plants were spaced five feet apart, in ten rows of ten plants.
A six-foot-high temporary deer fence was erected around the plot. We are working to install plant labels and signage at the site. The Middletown UFC has engaged the school administration and hopes the microforest can serve as a learning opportunity for the Moody School students. For more information please contact UFC Chairperson Steve Cronkite at MiddletownForestry@gmail.com We want to extend our sincerest thanks to all the volunteers who worked to make this happen. We couldn’t have done it without you!!
Steve Cronkite is the Chairperson of Middletown’s Urban Forestry Commission.