Will “tiny forests” help keep North Sydney green?

In increasingly developed, urban areas like North Sydney, finding space to plant new trees is a challenge. North Sydney Council is now considering whether one solution is the Miyawaki pocket forest: dense, multi-layered bush squeezed into a tiny block of land. 

What is it: Pocket forests, or tiny forests, are a method of restoring native flora to an area where multiple species of trees and shrubs are planted in close proximity. Before planting, the soil is enriched with compost, straw, leaves and fungi. In theory, the plants rapidly grow upward as they compete for sunlight. 

The method is inspired largely by the work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.

What happened: At its meeting last Monday, North Sydney Council voted to explore the feasibility of planting pocket forests across the LGA.

In recent years, North Sydney has had 3,000 trees cleared to make way for construction work on the Warringah Freeway upgrade. It’s on the state government to replant these (it previously pledged to replant twice as many trees as it lopped) and North Sydney is arguing the state should also help fund the tiny forest project.

Where to put it: North Sydney is pressed for green space at the moment. Significant portions of its parkland are currently occupied by Transport for NSW, busy finishing up work on the Warringah Freeway. 

With that project scheduled to wrap up late this year, council wants to use some of this returned land for its tiny forest. Potential locations include Rose Avenue Reserve, Anzac Avenue Reserve, Jefferson Jackson Reserve and Merlin Street Reserve.

What will it look like? Ku-ring-gai Council has its own project in West Pymble. Planted in 2024, the forest sits in the middle of a small grass reserve, and consists of over 30 species of native trees and shrubs, such as turpentine, blue gum and Parramatta wattle.

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