Once the ground is prepared, it's time to plant. Between Friday and Sunday you can help plant a small Miyawaki forest in the middle of the city. Just show up with gloves and appropriate footwear.
Remember the small forest that started to be created in Areeiro in December? Now, once the ground preparation is complete, it's time to go ahead with the planting of the trees and bushes and anyone can participate for free. The first tree-planting action will take place already next weekend, between Friday and Sunday.
If you are interested, all you have to do is show up in this place (it's the Casal Vistoso Urban Park) next Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday, between 10am and 1pm and 2pm and 5pm. No registration is required (just show up), but if you want, you can join the Urbem group on the Meetup event platform. You have a bike path from Almirante Reis or Parque da Bela Vista to the site, as well as subway at Olaias and Areeiro, and buses 720, 756, and 793; the nearest train station is Roma-Areeiro.
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The team at Urbem - a non-profit organization behind this mini urban forest, in partnership with the Lisbon City Council - recommends that you bring a pair of gardening or kitchen gloves, suitable gardening footwear (good boots or wellies will do), a bottle of water and, if you want, something to eat. In principle it won't rain, so you won't have to worry about a rain jacket.
The mini-forest that is being created in the Casal Vistoso Urban Park, in Areeiro, is the third of its kind in Lisbon. For its development, the method of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki is being used, which allows growing natural forests in relatively small spaces, such as urban parksand relatively faster than traditional afforestation methods. On the other hand, these small urban forests can help cities in their resilience to climate change, offering home to countless native plants and several species of local fauna, strengthening the biodiversity in urban centers, refreshing our streets and squares, and contributing to the infiltration of water.
Urbem's desire is to captivate people in the neighborhoods and in the city for the different stages of development of these mini urban forests, inviting the community to take ownership of these spaces, to feel them as their own, and to participate in their preservation.
After the planting season, the maintenance and monitoring phase begins, in which a mapping of all the species planted is made and a follow-up of the survival of the different plants begins. At this time it is also important to do a more regular cleaning of the land, eliminating weeds. It is estimated, however, that the Miyawaki forests will become self-sustaining (with no need for human maintenance) within three years. You can read our full report here.
