Why Taking Root Is Planting Miyawaki Mini Forests

Across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana Taking Root has spent years working with communities to plant and protect trees using established arboriculture practices. Those methods — planting individual trees along streets, in parks, and on private property — remain essential to building and maintaining a healthy regional canopy.

Recently, however, Taking Root has begun planting Miyawaki (Mee-yah-WAH-kee) mini forests in select urban locations. This approach sometimes raises a natural question from both residents and tree professionals:

Why use Miyawaki forests instead of traditional tree planting methods?

The answer is simple: they solve a different problem.

Traditional Tree Planting Is Still the Foundation

Conventional arboriculture focuses on carefully selected, well-spaced trees planted in locations where they can mature for decades. This approach is ideal for:

• Street trees
• Park landscapes
• Institutional campuses
• Residential yards
• Large restoration sites

Spacing allows each tree to develop a full canopy and reduces competition for light, water, and nutrients. Arborists can manage pruning, monitor health, and replace trees as needed.

Taking Root continues to support and encourage this work. In fact, most of the region’s canopy gains will always come from thoughtful long-term planting and care of individual trees.

Where Miyawaki Forests Fit

The Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, is designed for a different challenge: restoring dense forest ecosystems in very small spaces, very quickly.

Instead of planting a few widely spaced trees, a Miyawaki forest uses:

• Many native species planted closely together
• Multiple forest layers (canopy, sub-canopy, shrubs)
• Intensive soil preparation
• Heavy mulch and early maintenance

This technique mimics the way natural forests regenerate. Because trees compete for light, they tend to grow upward quickly, forming a dense canopy within a few years.

For communities with limited land, this method can establish a pocket forest where traditional planting might produce only a handful of trees.

Miyawaki forests in Japan have been studied extensively and the benefits are well documented. Forests introduced in other nations have shown similar results. This mini forest video features Hannah Lewis, the author of the Mini-forest Revolution, as she tells the story of their development around the world.

Taking Root is partnering with the University of Cincinnati Field Center to conduct research on our Cincinnati area Miyawaki Forests.

Why This Matters in Urban Areas

Urban neighborhoods often face several constraints:

• Limited open land
• Compacted soils
• High heat from pavement and buildings
• Fragmented habitat for wildlife

Mini forests can help address some of these challenges by creating small but concentrated patches of vegetation.

Benefits may include:

• Faster canopy development
• Cooling shade in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods
• Stormwater management
• Habitat for birds and pollinators
• Educational opportunities for residents and schools
• Community engagement through planting events
• Increased diversity
• More leaf area for increased carbon abatement and particulate reduction capacity

These sites can also demonstrate what a dense native woodland looks like, something many urban residents rarely experience.

Not a Replacement for Arboriculture

It’s important to emphasize that Miyawaki forests are not a replacement for traditional arboriculture.

Urban forests require many strategies working together:

• Street tree programs
• Park tree planting
• Preservation of mature canopy
• Riparian restoration
• Private property planting
• Community forestry initiatives

Mini forests are simply one additional tool.

In fact, arborists and urban foresters often play a key role in selecting appropriate native species, evaluating site conditions, and helping ensure long-term success of Miyawaki forests.

A Complementary Strategy

Taking Root’s goal is to increase tree canopy and strengthen the region’s urban forest using the best tools available.

Traditional tree planting remains the backbone of that effort. Miyawaki mini forests are being added where they make sense — particularly in small urban sites where creating a dense woodland ecosystem can deliver benefits quickly.

By combining time-tested arboriculture practices with innovative planting methods, communities can expand canopy, support biodiversity, and help neighborhoods experience the many benefits of trees.

If you’re interested in participating in a future mini-forest plantings, or learning more about urban tree planting in our region, subscribe to our email list for upcoming events, plantings and volunteer opportunities.

Learn more about Taking Root’s Miyawaki Mini Forest Initiative. Information is added as the planting details and research data is available.