Mini-Forest Project in Rochester
Our First Mini-Forest Took Root on May 3, 2025!
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June 4, 2026 |
Our First Mini-Forest Took Root on May 3, 2025!
Over 100 people came to the Ribbon Cutting Celebration to mark the planting of Rochester's first Miyawaki Mini-Forest. One year later, the forest is thriving.
Our Partners & Funders
This project is a true community collaboration:
City Partners: City of Rochester DPW · Parks Department · City Beautiful Commission · Rochester Tree Committee
Community Partners: Rochester Pollinators · Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce · Daughters of the American Revolution · Rochester High School · Girl Scouts · Boy Scouts
Funded By:
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The Site
The Rochester Mini-Forest is planted on a formerly vacant lot — a former garbage dump — situated at the edge of the city near the Community Garden and Sugar Maple Grove, close to Wilcox and Woodward. It sits just north of Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve and the Paint Creek Trail, creating the beginning of a wildlife and wellness corridor.
Coming in 2028: When the forest reaches maturity, the protective fence will come down and two benches will be installed — a quiet place to sit among the trees and practice forest bathing.
How We Built It
Soil Preparation Because this site was a former garbage dump, we excavated seven feet down across the entire 1,000 square foot plot. The soil was replaced with a mixture of leaf mulch, compost, and topsoil — creating the foundation a healthy forest needs.
The Design An individual with a forestry science degree designed the species groupings for each of the ten 100-square-foot plots. Each plot reflects the plant communities that existed across this region in different eras — the species that belonged here, the layering that allowed them to thrive together. No two plots are identical.
Planting Day — May 3, 2025 35 volunteers planted 290 native trees, shrubs and plants in just 2.5 hours. Plants were a mix of bare root and potted stock, averaging 2–3 feet tall at planting.
Ongoing Maintenance Rochester Pollinators manages weeding. The City of Rochester DPW handles watering. The forest will be completely self-sustaining — no irrigation, no maintenance — by 2028.
What's in the Forest
1,000 sq ft | 290 native plants | 30+ species | 95% indigenous to Oakland County
- 52 Canopy Trees — Oak, Black Cherry, Shagbark Hickory, Tulip Tree, Basswood, Birch, Red Maple
- 106 Understory Trees — Serviceberry, Redbud, Flowering Dogwood, Pagoda Dogwood, Witch Hazel, Paw Paw, Chokecherry
- 132 Shrubs — Spicebush, Buttonbush, Elderberry, Viburnum, Ninebark, Fragrant Sumac, American Hazelnut
The Mother Tree: A Red Leaf Maple sits at the center of the forest — the anchor of the entire planting.
Keystone Species in This Forest:
- Oak — supports 500+ species
- Black Cherry — supports 418 species
- Red Maple — supports 281 species
- Serviceberry — supports 115 species; one of the first to bloom in spring
- Spicebush — host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly
Rooted in Oakland County's Past
Before European settlement, Oakland County sat at the meeting point of two great forest communities — the Beech-Maple forests of the north and the Oak-Hickory woodlands of the south. The species in this forest reflect both. The Oak, Hickory, Basswood, Black Cherry, Spicebush, Buttonbush, Elderberry, and Viburnum were all here — on this land — long before we were.
What Is a Mini-Forest?
Sometimes called a pocket forest or micro forest, a mini-forest is a small plot — usually around 1,000 sq ft — densely planted with a variety of native trees, understory trees, and native shrubs.
Japanese ecologist Akira Miyawaki developed this concept in the 1970s as a way to reforest degraded land while preserving native ecology. The method produces forests that grow 10x faster, support 100x more biodiversity, and become completely self-sustaining in just 3 years.
Mini-forests have now been planted worldwide and are gaining momentum across North America. Rochester is among the first communities in Michigan to plant one.
https://one-more-tree.org/blog/2024/06/14/miyawaki-pocket-forest-comprehensive-guide/
The Science Behind It
Trees have complex lives. They communicate through mycorrhizal fungal networks in the soil and chemical signals in the air. They share nutrients, warn each other of danger, and support their offspring — a cooperative system based on reciprocity, not competition.
Books that informed this project:
Marilyn used the first four books below for the mini-forest project.
- Finding the Mother Tree — Dr. Suzanne Simard
- Mini-Forest Revolution — Hannah Lewis
- The Hidden Life of Trees — Peter Wohlleben
- From Wasteland to Wonder — Basil Camu
- The Light Eaters — Zoe Schlanger
- When the Forest Breathes — Dr. Suzanne Simard
Videos
Mini-Forest Philosophy — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Rochester Mini-Forest Presentation
Free Online Mini-Forest Training — Green Communities Canada
Workplans & Documentation
Everything you need to replicate this in your community — publicly available and free.
Rochester Pollinators Workplan and Tree & Shrub List
Rochester Mini-Forest Grid Layout
Native Tree & Shrub Choices — 95% Indigenous to Oakland County
Buhr Park, Ann Arbor Mini-Forest Guidelines
More Resources
Humans Need Trees for Health Tiny Forests With Big Benefits — New York Times Leaf & Limb: Basics of Planting a Pocket Forest
The trees we plant today will outlive us. They will shade children we will never meet.
Globally, each day, 42 billion trees are cut down and you can help!
Bring It Home — Native Groupings for Your Landscape
You don't need 1,000 square feet to start. The same native species used in this forest can work in your home landscape. Start with 300 square feet and up — a sunny corner, a shady edge, or a narrow strip along your property line.
Pollinator Corner (sunny | minimum 200 sq ft) Choose ONE canopy: Black Cherry (40–80 ft) Add 1–2 understory: Serviceberry (15–25 ft), Redbud (20–30 ft), Flowering Dogwood (15–25 ft) Fill with shrubs: Spicebush, Buttonbush, Bush Honeysuckle, Elderberry
Shady Edge (part shade | minimum 300 sq ft) Choose ONE canopy: Hackberry (40–60 ft — drier soil) or Basswood (60–80 ft — moister soil) Add 1–2 understory: Pagoda Dogwood, Witch Hazel, Paw Paw (all multi-stemmed, bridge understory and shrub layer) Fill with shrubs: Highbush Cranberry, Nannyberry, Fragrant Sumac
Moist Woodland Edge (part sun to part shade | minimum 200 sq ft) Canopy: Red Maple (40–70 ft — tolerates wet soil) Add 1–2 understory: Eastern Redbud (20–30 ft), Paw Paw (15–20 ft — spreads by suckers) Fill with shrubs: Spicebush, Buttonbush, Elderberry, Highbush Cranberry
Narrow Wildlife Strip (8–10 ft wide minimum | any length) Choose 1–2 understory: Chokecherry (20–30 ft), Ironwood or Hop Hornbeam (25–40 ft) Fill with shrubs: Ninebark, Elderberry, Staghorn Sumac (spreads — plant where it can naturalize), American Hazelnut
All species native to Oakland County. All drawn directly from the Rochester Mini-Forest grid.
We didn't invent this forest. We remembered it.