Catlin Gabel Community breaks ground on Tiny Forest Project

By Emmalyn Song, ‘22

Overlooking the Davis-Gant soccer field, a bed of overturned soil ringed in flags and potted plants about the size of a tennis court awaits further development. In just a few years, this area will become a dense forest of native plants, a natural habitat for the local fauna and a sanctuary conducive for reflection and meditation for all.

Ironically, this peaceful enclave did not happen naturally, but through deliberate planning and action taken by Upper School Social Studies Teacher, Patrick Walsh, and the Upper School Environmental Action Team in leading Catlin Gabel’s (CGS) Tiny Forest Project.

Forests typically take hundreds of years to mature, with four stages of growth, the final state supporting large canopy trees.

“Tiny Forests flattens out time through the planting of all four layers,” Walsh explained.

The end result is a fast-growing, native forest in a short period of time. More than 600 plants from 43 native species will be planted in the cultivated square.

This novel process was invented by Japanese botanist, Akira Miyawaki, in response to the widespread deforestation due to mass industrial farming and urbanization. Miyawaki envisioned “Tiny Forests” ; the introduction of mature, dense, native forests in urban areas would mitigate the loss of natural habitat and carbon release. These tiny forests popped up in Japan, spread to India, then Europe, and now has taken hold in North America.

Walsh was inspired to build a Tiny Forest at Catlin Gabel and shared his vision with Upper School Head Aline Garcia-Rubio and Walsh’s Globalization course.

“Seniors in the Globalization course researched Tiny Forests and contributed to a proposal that resulted in Clean Water Services donating 60 baby trees and a grant of $5,000 from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to pay for the plants and materials necessary for a Tiny Forest,” Walsh stated.

Armed with these resources, Walsh and the team leveraged the expertise of the Head of Grounds, Mike Wilson, and Director of Facilities, Kitty Firth, in finding the optimal location for a tiny forest.

“A patchy grass area east of the soccer field was selected due to its visibility and accessibility,” said Walsh.

After soil preparation using the excavator, Upper and Middle school students worked in mulch and compost.

Walsh was pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of student enthusiasm and schoolwide collaboration involved in the project.

“I was excited that students from all divisions contributed to this project,” from making signs, creating paintings, putting in fence posts in addition to the “dirty work.”

“Something I didn’t really foresee was how positive it is for high school and Lower School students to collaborate” he beamed.

Walsh summed up his goals for the project to be “a place where people can go and enjoy and learn about Oregon nature… Our old growth forests are some of the most carbon intensive places on earth comparable to the Amazon.”

“When we think about climate change, we understand the importance of reforestation and trees…These tiny forests are at scale for little kids right here on campus.”

Walsh was recognized for his vision, action and leadership at his assembly presentation but he humbly deferred this as a community effort and thanked the support he received from school administrators, Garcia Rubio and Assistant Head of School, Barbara Ostos, facility leaders Mike Wilson and Kitty Firth, and the students of Catlin Gabel of all ages.