The tiny forests that thrive in cities

Scotland’s wee forests have a particular focus on school and community engagement. Its 34 sites are all planted near schools, with a particular effort to have them in areas of deprivation. Children and other locals are involved in planting and long term citizen science data collection, with some harnessed as “tree keepers” to help to monitor and maintain the forest in the long term. 

Other wee forests in Scotland are connected with local health services, with two in the Dundee area on the land of medical practices which take part in green prescribing, which connects patients with free nature-based activities.

Patrick Boxall, a lecturer in teacher education at Queen Margaret University who was involved in planting the wee forest now uses it for outdoor learning with schools and his students. “We’ve got a lovely group of active primary school kids, all engaged, happy as Larry, and there’s a rich experience,” he says, pointing to the kids. “We’re trying to build that into our curriculum.”

NatureScot has a long-term vision to plant a wee forest within a short walking distance of every school in urban Scotland, says Morrison, with an initial focus on one per school cluster (there are around 250-300 of these in Scotland).

But for now, funds for further wee forests is limited, she says. “At the moment, it’s being rather more opportunistic than strategic, just depending on that land, money, expertise and people coming together,” she says. “So there hasn’t been big jumps forward of swathes of new wee forests. It’s more incremental.” NatureScot’s focus is on restoring far larger landscapes, she adds. “Wee forests scattered throughout an urban landscape are not quite that landscape-scale objective.” The agency is exploring other routes for wee forests, though, she says.