Sacramento Friends Meeting launched this effort in January 2025, with the help of many local plant, soil, and earth-loving enthusiasts and organizations. We were tired of living under the despair of climate hopelessness. Now we’re gathering our courage and creating the world we know can exist!
What is a mini-forest?
A mini-forest, or micro-forest, is a dense, fast-growing, native woodland planted in a small, urban area that mimics the structure and benefits of a traditional forest. This unique approach is based on the award-winning work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
Mini-forests:
- Use heat resilient native plants
- Honor local indigenous knowledge
- Make use of urban spaces
- Aid carbon and Urban Heat Island offset
- Create biodiversity havens
- Use science-backed planting methods
- Improve health and wellness
- Heal soil biology
- Provide STEM learning opportunities
- Create community
Learn more about the world-wide mini-forest network
- Mini-Forest Revolution: Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild the World
By Hannah Lewis, Chelsea Green Publishing - Green Pocket Forests The Berkeley organization founded by Neelam Patil, one of TIME Magazine’s 2022 innovative teachers of the year
- SUGi The world-wide network of mini-forest projects
“The forest is the root of all life; it is the womb that revives our biological instincts,
that deepens our intelligence and increases our sensitivity as human beings.”
— Akira Miyawaki