SHORELINE — In 2022, a group of Shoreline community members came together, trying to figure out a way to address their concerns about climate change and biodiversity decline.
One couple in the group brought a book describing the Miyawaki method.
In the 1970s, Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki developed a method for rapidly growing forests on small plots of land by creating a dense mixture of native plants, which after three years of cultivation, can grow and become a thriving forest.
The idea was that by placing the plants close together, they would compete for light and grow faster, becoming a forest that seemed like it was a century old in only a few decades, said Sarah Phillips, a member of the King County League of Women Voters and volunteer for the project.
The group learned that the Shoreline Historical Museum had an unused lot — perfect for a potential project. With approval from the museum board, local donations and hundreds of volunteer hours, the community began planting a Miyawaki forest in December 2023.
The forest has been growing since then, and the Sno-Isle Sierra Club chapter is sponsoring a tour of the Miyawaki Forest at 10 a.m. Saturday for club and community members to experience and learn about the forest.
“Working together to create a wildlife habitat that brings relief from urban heat stress, sequester carbon as the trees continue to grow, absorb and filter rain, reduce stormwater volumes, provide a fully functioning resilient ecosystem with food and shelter for a myriad of wild creatures is a deeply satisfying activity,” Lee Keim, a member of the Miyawaki Forest Friends at Shoreline Historical Museum wrote in an email. “Importantly, knowing in a deliberate and long-lasting way that you have contributed to the fight against climate brings hope to people young and old.”
On Saturday, volunteers who worked on the project will give a PowerPoint presentation, explaining how the forest came to be and the motivations behind using the Miyawaki method in urban areas.
The tour will begin at the Shoreline Historical Museum. For more information, visit the Sierra Club Washington State website.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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