A Miyawaki Forest was born in December 2023 in a 3,000-square-foot space on a vacant lot next to the Shoreline Historical Museum at 18501 Linden Ave North. Over 300 volunteers and others helped place into the cold, wet ground 1,200 plants, representing 43 different native species.
Since that rainy December day, community involvement has continued in the frost, drizzle, rain and sun of winter into spring, organizers said. Work parties are weeding and mulching, using arborist chips. The first forest sprouts are growing. Lupine has poked through the mulch, camas flower shoots and huckleberry leaves have emerged and saplings are starting to leaf out.
A 3,000-gallon cistern installed in February is capturing rainwater from the roof of the historical museum’s archive building. Drip irrigation hoses will draw water from the cistern during the dry summer months. Three years from now, the forest will be vigorous enough to survive on its own, organizers said.
As we reported earlier, project volunteer and Edmonds resident Bruce Scholten said the idea for the forest was developed by the late Dr. Akira Miyawaki, who was hired by Nippon Steel Corporation to landscape its new steelworks. For various reasons, the selected plants and trees failed to thrive. The Japanese botanist thought about Nippon’s most durable species, realizing they inhabited ancient temple gardens. Miyawaki researched the flora and fauna that prehistorically preceded the steelworks.
Those plants flourished, Scholten explained. Not only did the right combination of plants grow well, they did so 10 times faster than alternatives. Soil amendments improved fertility, spurred growth and increased water retention – a safety valve against flash floods in an unruly climate. Thus, the Miyawaki Method was born.
Indigenous story teller and artist Roger Fernandes spent an afternoon in February with volunteers on interactive story creation for spiritual support of the forest. In March, volunteers spent the day on the first steps of fashioning clay signs in English and Lushootseed to be placed in the forest in May.
The first of three focal events, “Language of the Forest,” will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 4. Professor Dana Campbell will pose the question: Do trees communicate with other trees? Among the activities for adults and children will be placing the clay signs where they belong. There will be refreshments.
Other upcoming events:
“Summer Forest Celebration,” Saturday, June 29, 5:30-8 p.m.. Bring a picnic to the forest and listen to drumming from various cultures.
“Fall Life of the Forest,” Saturday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m.-noon. Native artist, storyteller and educator Roger Fernandes shares stories of the local Coast Salish tribes.
You can learn more here.
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