Fantastic Opportunity

August 2, 2022 Off By Wild Anglia
NNDC landscape colour on whiteCROP.svg

Queens Jubilee Community Miyawaki Forest Project

Have you seen our Miyawaki Forests and wanted to plant one in your local area?

As part of the Queens Jubilee celebrations, we would like to support the creation of more of these fantastic fast growing ecosystems across the district. We are looking for community groups to partner with us to achieve this, and have launched the Queens Jubilee Community Miyawaki Forest project. For this project, NNDC will provide:

Why plant a Miyawaki Forest?

  • improved biodiversity in urban or suburban locations
  • improved residents’ wellbeing and health
  • engagement with wider environmental projects and issues
  • reduced flooding and improved air quality
  • carbon sequestration and storage from the atmosphere
  • creates a more beautiful urban landscape
  • Funding for preparation and installation of a Miyawaki Forest including:
    • Ground preparation and addition of soil improvers
    • Mix of suitable native tree whips
    • Fencing and gate installation
    • Interpretation panel
  • Support with Forest design and organisation of installation, including liaison with
    contractors

We would like the partner groups to provide:

  • Site suitability assessment based on the criteria below
  • Survey of tree and hedge species in the local area around site
  • Ongoing communication with the local community about the project
  • Ongoing maintenance of the site (via Landowner agreement)
  • Community volunteers to help plant tree whips
  • Removal of the gate and fencing once trees have established (2-3 years)

The new Miyawaki Projects will look a little different from our current sites, as they will not be part of a wider research project, and the whole of the new sites will be planted in the Miyawaki way, not just half.

We can’t just plant the Miyawaki Forests anywhere, so we have created this set of criteria to help you identify a suitable site:

Essential

  • Needs to be in the North Norfolk District Council Area.
  • Needs to be located in an urban or semi-urban area. I.e. town, village setting.
  • Needs to cover an area approximately 264m2 (roughly the size of a tennis court 11m x 24m) for the actual Miyawaki Forest. This area can be of any shape/orientation, but the forest must not be narrower than 4m across at any given point.
  • Needs to be accessible for large machinery: mini digger needed for soil preparation, plus truck delivery of straw and other soil supplements
  • No underground infrastructure: soil needs to be excavated to 1m depth.
  • Need to ensure that no water pipes or gas mains etc. are near to the planting area.
  • No overhead infrastructure: trees will grow to 20m+. Needs to be away from overhead power cables, phone lines or large trees (however, trees on the edge of the site can be incorporated into the design.
  • Proof of land ownership or permission of the landowner to plant the Forest.

Desirable

  • Possible water access point: trees may need watering during first 2 years of establishment, so either a water access point located nearby, or access for a vehicle and water bowser to the site.
  • Need a site that is not causing obstruction to people’s right of way (the forest becomes very dense and impassable unless a specific pathway is incorporated into the design)
  • Site should not be designated as sensitive in any way: SSSI, SAC, Ramsar etc.
  • Site should be on an open area (we don’t want trees to be removed to plant new ones!), some scrub or low vegetation is fine, as are trees on the edge of the proposed site
  • The forest should be as compact as possible and is not suitable for using as hedging. Paths and an open classroom/area can be included into the design. The forest is fenced at least for the first 3 years with access through an open gate.

If you are interested in applying for a Miyawaki Forest, please complete the application form with as much detail as possible and return it to treeplantingproject@north-norfolk.gov.uk. The application deadline is the 31st August, successful applicants will be informed early September, and the installation completed by the 31st December 22.

To apply, please complete and return this application form to treeplantingproject@north-norfolk.gov.uk.

Terms and Conditions

We are hoping to support as many Miyawaki Forests as we can, but applications will be judged by their ability to meet the criteria, and the Councils decision is final. The Council reserves the right to cancel any proposed project if is it felt the group or site cannot meet the criteria set.

For more information please contact treeplantingproject@north-norfolk.gov.uk