Tiny Forest brings the benefits of woodland right into the heart of our cities and urban spaces: connecting people with nature, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change, as well as providing nature-rich habitat to support urban wildlife.
You can get involved in monitoring your local Tiny Forest using simple accessible scientific methods and submitting your data using this specially designed platform. Data will be analysed by our scientists to better assess the benefits these miniature urban woodlands can provide over time and between different forests.
Witney Tiny Forest (Oxfordshire), credit Earthwatch Europe
Tiny Forest Research
Tiny Forests as living laboratories
Using our Tiny Forests as a network of living laboratories, we are working with communities to monitor and understand the environmental benefits that Tiny Forests provide in urban areas, across different geographical areas and demographics.
At each Tiny Forest, the local community is encouraged to take part in tree planting, followed by the care and monitoring of the trees as they grow. We want to use each Tiny Forest as an opportunity to build social cohesion, re-connect people to nature, raise environmental awareness and empower positive action. We also want to understand the effects that Tiny Forests have on individuals' wellbeing and their connection with nature.
The results of our research will be used to inform policy, such as the Green Instructure Framework, and guide other agencies in how to use Miyawaki forests in urban areas to provide maximum benefits. Photo: Hammersmith Park Tiny Forest (London), credit Earthwatch Europe
The information gathered on Tiny Forests is collected by citizen scientists - members of the public that volunteer to collect and/or analyse data on a scientific research topic. Without citizen scientists we could not collect the amount of data needed to answer Tiny Forest research questions at a national and international scale.
In an average year, citizen scientists have spent 5,200 hours collecting Tiny Forest data. This would take one scientist 650 days to collect!
There are also benefits for the citizen scientists, such as joining a community, improving scientific knowledge, nature connectedness and a chance to support nature restoration, even developing skills that benefit your CV!
If you’d like to become a citizen scientist, head to our ‘Get Involved’ page Photo: Monkton Park Tiny Forest (Chippenham), credit Earthwatch Europe
The Tiny Forest monitoring programme encourages citizen scientists to explore five key areas to understand the environmental and social impacts of the forest and how to drive positive action for the planet:
Biodiversity
Southmere Park Tiny Forest (London), credit Lucyna Kaniecka
Tiny Forests have multiple layers and habitats that act as a refuge for wildlife within urban areas, because of this we expect biodiversity to increase within Tiny Forests. We want to understand how abundance and composition of three target insect groups (pollinators, butterflies and ground dwellers) changes over time.
Carbon storage
Perry Common Tiny Forest (Birmingham), credit Fever-Tree
Trees capture atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis and lock this carbon away in living biomass, such as the tree leaves, trunks and roots. In fact, approximately half of the dry weight of a tree is carbon. A representative sample of 100 trees are tagged in each Tiny Forest during planting day. Citizen scientists then measure the diameter, height and mortality of these tagged trees each year to record their growth and calculate an estimate of how much above ground carbon is stored annually.
Perry Common Tiny Forest (Birmingham), credit Fever-Tree
Tiny Forests have the potential to help regulate urban temperatures. Water evaporates from trees through tiny holes (stomata) in the surface of the leaves. This is known as evaporative cooling. Tree canopies also provide shade, improving the ambient temperature and prevent solar radiation from heating building walls and roads. To measure the effect Tiny Forests have on urban temperature regulation, our citizen scientists monitor air temperature, humidity, wind speed and their personal experience in and around the forests.
Witney Tiny Forest (Oxfordshire), credit Angelina Lee
All urban trees play a role in the water cycle and provide flood management services. Tree roots help water penetrate deeper into the soil at a faster rate, reducing surface run-off and storing more water in the soil. Tree leaves, branches and trunks also catch rainwater as it’s falling, slowing the rainfall. To measure how Tiny Forests effect flood management citizen scientists measure water infiltration rate, soil moisture, soil compaction, soil texture and soil colour.
Queen's Park Tiny Forest (Hinckley), credit Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council
There is growing evidence that trees improve mental and physical health. Tiny Forests can support peoples’ health and wellbeing through aesthetic value, opportunities to watch wildlife and personal involvement in the project. We build on this by increasing people’s connection to nature through education, engagement and citizen science activities. To understand the benefits of engaging with the Tiny Forest project, we carry out surveys with volunteers and local communities.
Tiny Forest partnerships and research collaborations
We are collaborating with researchers and university students to develop research into these topics and many more using the Tiny Forest network as a living laboratory. Combined with the citizen science data we will be able to:
Quantify and describe their benefits, i.e. how good Tiny Forests are for supporting our wellbeing and the environment.
Build knowledge on the best practices to plant, support and engage with Tiny Forests.
Raise awareness and support interaction with nature where we need it the most, in our cities.
Our existing research collaborations include projects with:
Derby University
Essex University
University of Leicester
University of Sheffield
University of Warwick
Our Tiny Forest Science team is also co-ordinating the Miyawaki Research Network (MiRN). This is a group of researchers and Miyawaki practitioners from seven different countries including the UK, France, Netherlands, USA, Canada, India and Australia. Partners are collaborating to understand the particular features of the Miyawaki approach compared to other tree planting methods. The network connects members, provides opportunities to share expertise and develops consistent methods for data collection and analysis.
Research enquiries and collaborations
If you are a researcher interested in joining the MiRN or are working on the Miyawaki planting method, get in touch with us by emailing:
Help us bring Tiny Forests to the communities that need them most. Your donation will help us reach our goal to plant 500 Tiny Forests across the UK by 2030.
Due to bank fees, we are unable to accept gifts less than £2.50. Thank you for your understanding.
Why we need your help
Our urban spaces are facing unprecedented environmental challenges. The effects of climate change are intensified in urban settings with towns and cities at higher risk of dangerously high temperatures and extreme flooding.
Around 1 in 3 people in the UK don’t have access to nature-rich spaces near their homes, with some of the most deprived areas having no natural green space. Ethnic minorities are twice as likely to live in nature-poor neighbourhoods. Wildlife is disappearing and natural green spaces are threatened with development.
With over 80% of the UK population living in towns and cities it’s vital that we find ways to tackle these challenges.
Tiny Forest is more than just trees. These super tiny, super powerful forests reconnect people with nature, enhance wellbeing, help mitigate the impacts of climate change and provide nature-rich habitat patches to support urban wildlife. Help us continue to grow the movement across the UK.
Discover other ways you can help support Tiny Forest here.
William Torbitt Primary School Tiny Forest (London), credit Earthwatch Europe
What is Tiny Forest?
A Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing native woodland, about the size of a tennis court. These forests are not only great homes for butterflies, birds, bees and other wildlife but also a place for people to connect with, and learn about, nature. Each forest is a unique public asset – planted and cared for by the local community.
These super tiny, super powerful forests aim to mimic natural forests but in a small space. They include a mix of native trees which, over time, will create a wildlife-rich woodland. Tiny Forests don’t require much space and they can be planted anywhere that land is available – in a park, school or on a brownfield site.
Earthwatch Europe is pioneering Tiny Forest in the UK and is part of the global Tiny Forest Network, working in partnership with IVN Natuureducatie.
A nature-based solution
Environmental issues such as flooding, increased temperatures from climate change, and loss of wildlife are increasingly affecting urban areas. Tiny Forest can play a part in tackling these challenges. Tiny Forests capture carbon from the atmosphere, help with urban cooling by providing shade and provide much-needed homes for urban wildlife.
Tiny Forests use the Miyawaki tree planting method, where a community of native trees that include the different layers found in a mature forest, are planted close together. This allows our Tiny Forests to develop rapidly and form a multi-layered forest ecosystem. We chose this method for Tiny Forests as it is the perfect way to fit a bustling forest ecosystem into small urban spaces, while providing the local community and schools with all the wonderful benefits of urban trees.
Tiny Forest provides a place for children to connect with the outdoors. Children are encouraged to help plant the forests, care for them and help with wildlife and carbon surveys.
Tiny Forest also provides an outdoor learning resource that complements classroom education. Our learning and science experts deliver training sessions for teachers, as well as assemblies and classes for school children. This experience equips both teachers and children with the knowledge and skills to understand the natural world and take positive environmental action.
Photo: Monkton Park Tiny Forest (Chippenham) credit Earthwatch Europe.
A place to come together
Tiny Forests provide a beautiful natural space where local people can spend time in nature or come together as a community.
Each of these forests is cared for and enjoyed by the local community. In their early stages, Tiny Forests need to be looked after to ensure that they grow healthily. Under the careful management of Tree Keeper volunteers, communities water, weed and care for their local forests. This not only builds connections with the forests themselves but also helps to foster connections in the community.
Photo: Haringey Tiny Forest (London) credit American Express.
Tiny Forest is growing
Earthwatch Europe planted the UK’s first Tiny Forest in March 2020 in Oxfordshire, with partner Witney Town Council. Since then, we have continued to plant more Tiny Forests across the country in collaboration with a wide range of amazing partners.
We are always seeking visionary partners to bring Tiny Forest to the communities that will benefit from them most. If you would like to help us establish a Tiny Forest in your area, get in touch. get in touch.
Photo: Southmere Park Tiny Forest (London), credit Richard Held.
Discover our Tiny Forest partners
We are working with a wide range of partners to deliver Tiny Forest including local authorities, businesses, scientists, Government bodies, schools, other NGOs and community groups.
Earthwatch Europe is pioneering Tiny Forest in the UK and is part of the global Tiny Forest Network, working in partnership with IVN Natuureducatie'
Tiny Forests planted
Trees planted
Planted area
Minutes spent mindfully in nature
Rated Tiny Forest events Fantastic or Really Good
Trees monitored
Butterfly species
Surveys completed
