Earlier this year, children at Majura Primary School, Watson, imagined a forest classroom, part of a community micro-forest to be planted in nearby Wade Street Park. Those children will soon see that forest grow. This weekend, 120-odd volunteers will plant the micro-forest’s 1,000 seedlings in the Park.
The Watson Micro-forest Project is an urban sanctuary to strengthen community, tackle climate change, and re-connect people to nature. The area will contain a forest classroom for outdoor learning, Indigenous bushfood, and an integrated nature playscape and picnic seating.
Led by Watson locals Elizabeth Adcock and Purdie Bowden, the project has raised close to $53,000 through crowdfunding.
The micro-forest will feature climate-ready native plants that can cope with hot, dry temperatures, including “pollinator beds” to attract native bees and butterflies.
Last week, earthworks began to build rainwater harvesting trenches that will capture and retain water for the plants to draw on in dry periods.
The Watson Micro-forest was designed by Edwina Robinson, landscape architect and CEO of social enterprise, The Climate Factory, a social entreprise set up to help communities create climate-cooling outdoor spaces, in response to Australia’s hottest and driest recorded temperatures.
Ms Robinson was inspired by the Majura Primary School student’s dioramas and pictures. It included, she said, creek beds and “camp-sites”, as well as things to climb on, hide inside, and provide habitat for native species.
The children also imagined forests of feathers, tepees, firepits, ponds, koalas on roundabouts, and plesiosaurs frolicking in plasticine ponds.
The micro-forest planting days are fully booked, demonstrating the strong level of community engagement in the project.
Elizabeth Adcock said: “I am thrilled that the community’s vision to create this urban oasis is becoming a reality. We are grateful to our generous business sponsors and community donors for getting behind this project.”
ACT Greens MLAs for Kurrajong, Rebecca Vassarotti and Shane Rattenbury, will attend the planning day on Sunday.
“I am excited to be planting at the Watson Micro-forest this weekend after having the difficult job of judging the Majura Primary School’s student art competition back in March,” Ms Vassarotti said. “It is so great to see this flourish from an idea into a reality, with the great support and investment from the local community.”
“Canberra’s network of micro-forests across the city have spung up from grassroots campaigns, which just shows how important our environment is to so many Canberrans,” Mr Rattenbury said.
Ms Robinson came up with the micro-forest concept in 2019, inspired by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki’s technique for building dense, native forests in 20 to 30 years. The ACT’s first micro-forest was planted in Downer last year.
Another project in Holt recently met its fundraising target, and more micro-forests are planned for Casey and Pearce.
The Watson Micro-forest is supported by the ACT Government’s Nature in the City and Cultural Grants, and the Commonwealth’s Stronger Communities Programme.
