FROM little things big things grow!
This is exactly the case with a tiny forest, which sprouted-up on Wednesday at Harrigan Park, Tarrawanna.
Students from Tarrawanna Public School took steps to plant Wollongong city’s first ‘tiny forest’. Working closely with Wollongong City Council staff, who selected plants for the location, students planted 500 new trees and shrubs.
Works are underway for a ‘tiny forests trial’ to make better use of outdoor spaces throughout city. By swapping grass with a range of plants and trees, Council says the multi-layered forests will create around 30 times more green surface area compared to grass alone.
The plants chosen are commonly found in grassy woodland, wet sclerophyll forests and rainforest – the type of vegetation once common in Tarrawanna. The plants included eucalyptus, wattles, palms, tea trees and grasses.
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said Wollongong Botanic Garden nursery chose over 50 plant species for Tarrawanna.
“What we’re hoping is that by involving local students, our community will be able to take ownership of this new tiny forest and care for it while it establishes roots,” Cr Bradbery said.
“This is a great community project, and we want to say a big thank you to all of the students who lent a hand, or a shovel, or drew pictures to get this started in Tarrawanna.”
Council is now getting ready to plant more tiny forests around the community in suburbs which have low tree canopy cover such as Bellambi.
Each tiny forest will be filled with a diverse and dense mix of native plants, chosen to replicate the layers of a forest. The planted areas are able to thrive in busy, built-up areas where they can provide a big impact to nearby communities.
“These forests offer so many benefits to our community from more shade, cooler air, homes and food for wildlife, a buffer to reduce noise, restoration of local biodiversity and a way to absorb harmful carbon emissions to create a more liveable future,” Cr Bradbery said.
“Each of the sites selected for the forests are about the size of a half tennis court. To prepare each site, we’re using our own premium and nutrient boosted FOGO compost so it’s a bit of a circular system. Your food waste is turned into compost which in turn is used to grow a tiny forest in your community.”
Most of the plants for the sites are grown and prepared from the Wollongong Botanic Garden Nursery.
“These self-sustaining spaces really are a wonderful idea and what’s even better is that we’re able to involve our community and make it truly a local project,” Cr Bradbery said.
“These tiny forests build on the work of our urban greening Strategy. Just as our verge gardens create microenvironments that benefit our communities, these tiny forests are sure to be a welcome addition to our greening program that benefits everyone.”
To learn more about the Tiny Forest Project or get involved in other community greening initiatives, visit Council’s website.
Subscribe to the latest Bulli & Clifton Times news stories
PAYPAL TIP JAR
YOU can support the The Bulli & Clifton Times and/or the Looking Back local history websites with a donation through PayPal. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs, and help support independent journalism and local news media. You can leave a small tip here of $2, or several small tips, just increase the amount as you like. Your support helps provide an independent and free source of local news and information.
A$2.00
OR DONATE BY DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD
Don’t have PayPal? Instead, you can make a small donation towards the publishing of The Bulli & Clifton Times and/or the Looking Back websites with your credit or debit card. If you would like to support my work, you can leave a $2 donation here by tapping or clicking on the button below. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs.
The Bulli & Clifton Times 
Discussion
No comments yet.