READY FOR PLANTING: Quarry Park in the center of town off Spruce Street will be the site of the October 4 inception of Princeton’s first microforest, 1,500 densely planted trees creating a fast-growing forest that advances the goals of Princeton’s Climate Action Plan. (Photo by Princeton Municipal Arborist Taylor Sapudar)
By Donald Gilpin
A planting event for Princeton’s first microforest will take place on Saturday, October 4 at Quarry Park, using the Miyawaki method of high density planting to accelerate tree growth with forests typically maturing in 20 to 30 years instead of 100 years or more.
Princeton residents are invited to sign up and participate in the planting of approximately 1,500 trees and shrubs in an underutilized 6,000 square foot grassy area of the park at 155 Spruce Street in the heart of town.
The planting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain date: October 5) is organized in shifts, and signing up in advance is strongly encouraged —visit princeton.civilspace.io for sign-ups and further information. Residents who want to learn more about the project are welcome to attend at any time and talk with the organizers.
Sponsored by the Municipality, the Environmental Commission, the Shade Tree Commission, Princeton Recreation Commission, Princeton Housing Authority, and Sustainable Princeton, with a $10,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey funded by the PSEG Foundation, the project is designed to create a natural ecosystem that over the next 40 years will sequester approximately 132 tons of carbon, avoid about 12,500 gallons of stormwater runoff, and significantly improve air quality by removing nearly 1,700 pounds of pollutants including carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and fine particulate matter, according to the town’s grant application.
“Another great benefit for me was to have the neighbors come together and meet each other and work towards a common goal,” said Princeton Open Space Manager Inga Reich, who is coordinating the project. “It’s a really great opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other and work together.”
The location of the new microforest, more than a mile from any forested open space preserves, was chosen in part to provide a walkable connection to nature for residents within the surrounding neighborhood, many of whom do not have access to a car.
An early proponent of the microforest project, former Princeton Councilwoman Eve Niedergang described some of its many benefits in a statement on the municipal website. “The establishment of a microforest in Princeton is a positive step forward in our efforts to foster climate resiliency, promote biodiversity, slow stormwater runoff, and lessen the urban heat island effect,” she wrote. “In addition to its positive ecological benefits, it also presents an opportunity for collaboration between Princeton’s Environmental, Shade Tree, and Recreation Commissions, Sustainable Princeton, and the local community. Finally, the location of the microforest, adjacent to Princeton Housing Authority’s Spruce Circle fosters environmental justice and inclusion for all Princetonians.”
Microforests — known as Miyawaki forests or tiny, mini, or pocket forests —were first conceived in the 1970s in Japan by plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki. Trees and shrubs are densely planted to create a fast-growing forest which can mature up to five times as fast as a normal forest.
The competition between plants is stronger in a denser space so they grow faster. The growing canopy shades out weeds, which helps the forest become self-sustaining after only two or three years.
The Quarry Park microforest will include many native tree and shrub species such as red maple, white oak, American hornbeam, tulip poplar, blackgum, sweet pepper bush, nannyberry, and spicebush. There will be trails in the microforest with benches available for visitors.
Reich noted that the cost of creating the microforest is likely to exceed the $10,000 provided in the grant, but only marginally because much of the work is being done by volunteers and in-house by the Department of Public Works, which has been preparing the ground, will be building a fence to protect the young trees from the deer, and will be installing an economical sprinkler system.
Sustainable Princeton, along with volunteers from Princeton High School and Princeton Middle School, will also be involved in the maintenance and caretaking of the Quarry Park Microforest, Reich said.
She is hopeful that Princeton will be able to create additional, probably smaller microforests in the future, and she has been working with Princeton University graduate students, Princeton Energy and Climate Scholars, to explore suitable possible locations around town.
Reich urged residents to sign up and join the October 4 planting. “It’s a family-friendly event,” she said. “Kids are welcome to plant trees as well. Ultimately the event should make people curious to come back and see how the area changes over the years, what animals might come in, and how many other plants might grow up. We’re also looking for people to weed the forest during the establishment years when the trees are not that tall yet.”