Good things take root when a community comes together to plant a mini-forest. Neighbours meet and connect. Urban wildlife find leafy refuge from the concrete and glass landscape of the city. The air gets cleaner and cooler.
That’s the ethos and the vision behind a national pilot project to introduce new green spaces into urban environments and combat biodiversity loss in Canada by planting mini forests. The project, led by Green Communities Canada in collaboration with Dougan & Associates, Canadian Geographic and Wilder Climate Solutions through the Network of Nature, aims to transform identified sites using an innovative tree-planting method modelled after the Miyawaki forest technique.
Mini forests, also known as tiny forests or Miyawaki forests, are small-scale, densely planted native urban forests. These forests have been successfully grown on private properties in Japan and elsewhere for more than 40 years. The Miyawaki method of planting encourages tree communities to grow upward and to share resources. The forests quickly grow into green oases for birds, insects, and small animals, and become places the public can enjoy. Their dense structure protects the ecosystem and provides local benefits such as improved air quality, stormwater retention and a reduction of the urban heat island effect.
In 2023, the National Mini Forest Pilot worked with municipalities and community organizations to plant some 2,800 trees in five cities across Canada. In 2024, they hope to plant over 10,000 trees. Click on a map pin or scroll down to explore Canada’s newest tiny forests. This map will be updated as new tiny forests are planted.