A Wacky Forest, a Giant Mushroom and Sunshine in St Matthew's

Last Friday, in glorious sunshine, children from St Matthew's planted a micro-forest in their school grounds.

Inspired by the work of world renown ecologist Dr. Akira Miyawaki, the new forest is planted with the potential to grow 10 times faster, be 20 times more biodiverse, and up to 30 times better at absorbing carbon compared to more traditional woodland, delivering huge benefits for the environment and air quality.  

The children enjoyed activities and talks, then each planted a tree, supervised by the SocieTree team, a not for profit company, whose pioneering project aims to plant 96 microforests in and around Plymouth. St Matthew's was the sixth school to take part in the scheme, which is also backed by Plymouth City Council and the National Trust.

The team introduced the children to a series of colourful books called 'My Wacky Forest' (playing on the name of Dr Miyawaki!). The main character, a mushroom called 'Mushi' (a fun-guy) takes the children through a range of current topics including global warming, plastics, and flooding. They outline how the forest ecosystem deals with these issues and what we can all do to help. Scientific facts deepen the children’s knowledge of the subjects, alongside fun activities to engage and inspire them.

There was great excitement when Mushi himself made a personal appearance at the end of the tree planting session.

Thank you to the teams from SocieTree, Plymouth City Council, National Trust and the children and staff of St Matthew's for such a fantastic effort.