Parish council plans for a thicket of trees

South Swindon Parish Council have been approached by Earthwatch UK with a proposal to create a thicket — which Earthwatch brand a ‘Tiny Forest’ — in an area near to the East Wichel play park. The proposal would involve planting 600 trees in an area the size of a tennis court. The idea is based on the Miyawaki method, which plants trees closely together (more than two trees per square metre) to encourage trees to quickly develop in areas that are difficult to cultivate.

After an initial period of preparation, planting and two years of regular monitoring, the Tiny Forest thicket is claimed to need relatively little maintenance after three years. Earthwatch UK planted their first ‘Tiny Forest’ in Witney, Oxfordshire, earlier in 2020, apparently at a cost of £25,000 to Witney Town Council.

Detailed information on Tiny Forests can be found (in English) on the Netherlands Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability (IVN) website. Comments on South Swindon Parish Council’s proposal can be made on their Facebook post, or by email to the address given in that post.