Issaquah Miyawaki Forest
A Forest for the Community
The Issaquah Alps Trails Club and Green Issaquah have partnered to transform a small park with degraded soil that buffers Issaquah Creek into a community Miyawaki forest. This will be a space where people can contribute to planting and caring for the forest - as well as simply enjoying spending time there. The forest will include 34 plant species - all native!
Miyawaki forests are about growing local connection and hope—so community involvement is a big part of the process! Whether you participate in preparing the site or soil, planting native trees and understory, caring for the forest in the first two years or enjoy watching the plants grow up, we hope you find joy and satisfaction in the Issaquah Miyawaki Forest!!!
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the
Forterra Community Restoration Grant and the Foundation for Intelligent Life on Earth.
Miyawaki Method
Japanese botanist and plant ecology expert Dr. Akira Miyawaki, planted his first forest in Japan and now Miyawaki Forest projects are popping up all around the world! The Miyawaki Method is one of the most effective ways to plant for creating forest cover quickly on degraded land - using only native species in order to mimic the natural process of forest re-wilding. Miyawaki forests grow 10 times faster, are 30 times denser, and contain 100 times more biodiversity than most planted forests - reaching maturity in 15-40 years, rather than 150-200 years. Miyawaki forests are viable solutions for cities looking to rapidly build climate resilience as they are quick to establish, maintenance-free after the first two or three years, and can be created on sites as small as 3 square meters.
Washington Miyawaki Forests
The Issaquah Miyawaki Forest is part of a growing movement in Washington. Here are other forests throughout Washington you can learn more about and explore:
Join the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and Green Issaquah for a special planting event to create Issaquah’s first Miyawaki Forest along Issaquah Creek!