Mini-Forest

Last weekend, the Belmont community planted a mini-forest on the high school grounds, using the Miyawaki method.

Akira Miyawaki was a botanist who developed this method in the 1970s. The primeval forests, which feature a diverse range of species growing around Japanese shrines and temples and have been left to grow for centuries, inspired him to create a self-sufficient, multi-layered forest ecosystem— a mini-forest- by planting native trees and shrubs densely in degraded areas, thereby restoring native forests.

All summer, I nurtured a Black Birch and planted it along with eight other trees and shrubs in the mini-forest: Silver Maple, Swamp White Oak, American Sycamore, Red Maple, Pussy Willow, American Elm, Winterberry Holly, and Sweet Pepperbush. My little Black Birch is now next to the taller Silver Maple and White Oak. I hope it will not perish from a lack of sunshine when the trees around it grow taller.

The mini-forest now includes 33 species and 1200 trees.

It runs along my jogging trail and is close to where I live. I plan to visit often and watch it grow. I look forward to seeing how it will appear in two to three years.

Many years ago, my daughter and I traveled to Sabah in North Borneo. We saw miles upon miles of oil palm plantations. Deforestation destroyed biodiversity and the habitat for orangutans, the primate of the region. They are being raised in a sanctuary, a sad state of affairs.

Someone once said that there are three things one should do in one's lifetime: Plant a tree, have a child, and write a book. I have done all three.

Books: The Girl Who Taught Herself to Fly    

paperback, ebooks, and audiobooks here.

"Into Africa Out of Academia: A Doctor's Memoir"

Book debut: "Lest We Forget: A Doctor's Experience with Life and Death During the Ebola Outbreak"

I have signed a contract for my next book, tentatively titled: Long Flight to Independence: An International Student's American Dream with McFarland.