Natick has been awarded $57,000 that will be used in part to install a tiny forest on the high school campus that could have numerous environmental benefits for the town and serve as a model for other communities. Expect the tiny forest to start in the fall of 2024.
“It will take roughly 2 years to grow into its final form, but because of the diversity and density of plantings, it will look quite impressive right off the bat!” says Claire Rundelli, Natick’s planner and conservation agent.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) grant is part of $800,000 in awards for 13 projects in Greater Boston aimed at accelerating climate change resilience. This marks the fourth round of funding through the program, an MAPC and Barr Foundation partnership.
Rundelli says the town is excited that its grant bid—kickstarted by her predecessor Marianne Iarossi and her foundation—was accepted. “We hope that this project can serve as a model for private landowners looking to increase resiliency on their property and continue moving the model forward for public locations after Cambridge’s forest last year,” Rundelli says. (Learn more about the Cambridge experience.)
The benefits of the Natick tiny forest would be “increased biodiversity, increased stormwater runoff management and pollutant removal, and decreased heat island effect by increasing tree canopy. Beyond our Town, we hope to continue to prove that this model is sustainable for communities,” Rundelli says.
A tiny forest uses the Miyawaki Forest method, which Rundelli describes as dense and diverse plantings that can replicate the competition plants face in the wild. This “encourages faster growth and root establishment to create a mini-pocket of fully functioning forest,” she adds.
Non-profit Bio4Climate will assist with acquiring soil additives and planting material as well as supervising installation and volunteer training. Natick High School’s Earth Club will maintain the forest for at least its first 3 years along with other community members, and some Department of Public Works assistance. Drip irrigation will probably be used to avoid needing direct watering from the town.
Natick’s Sustainability Committee will use a portion of the grant money to boost the town’s Strategic Tree Planting Program.
The tiny forest team is coordinating with the DPW on a location for the project, which will probably use somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 sq. ft. Most likely, it will go on a small lawn area along West Street. Plant and tree species will be chosen once soil testing in the area is completed.
Keep an eye out for a website inviting community members to get involved in the project and keep up on its progress.
More: Why ‘tiny forests’ are popping up in big cities (National Geographic, 2021)
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Will be beautiful in a few years! Go, Natick! Go!