An intergenerational miniforest now grows in Belmont, MA!
Last year, alongside organizing and hosting the inaugural Northeast Miniforest Summit to support knowledge-sharing and connection, our Miyawaki Forest Program reached an important milestone: planting a 3,000-square-foot miniforest at Belmont High School together with the Miyawaki Forest Action Belmont (MFAB) group and students from the school’s Climate Action Club (CAC).
On October 4, 2025, nearly 275 Belmont volunteers—spanning generations—came together to plant 1,144 native trees and shrubs across 32 species, jump-starting soil life with leaf mulch and compost tea and bringing a living classroom rooted in collective care to life.
What makes this miniforest especially meaningful is the way it was imagined, organized, and stewarded by the community and students—amplifying a web of relationships and a shared sense of care and responsibility to the ecology of place and to one another, while restoring biodiversity and ecological function.
To many more community-initiated, student-powered miniforests—built by many hands and grown for many futures.
With deep gratitude to everyone whose time, support, and care made this possible—and to those stewarding it forward.
Learn more about how this miniforest came to life.
Posted: February 7, 2026