AYER — The site of the town’s premier pocket forest may not be much to look at now, more like an early-spring garden plot that hasn’t sprouted yet. But the small slice of reclaimed land in a tucked-away spot by the East Main Street bridge, across from the library, is alive, and it holds much promise.
One recent, sunny Saturday morning, a couple dozen people gathered at the site for a “Mini-Festival” marking the nascent mini-forest’s first birthday. Spearheaded by Ayer’s Office of Community & Economic Development, the event featured live music and a forest-themed birthday cake made of cupcakes, provided by Ayer Shop & Save.
According to organizers, including CED Director Alan Manoian, Ayer’s first pocket forest, which is among the first in the state, was staked out and seeded a year ago.
At that time, over 100 residents, family, friends and visitors prepared the ground and planted thirty-plus species of native trees, seeds, shrubs and plants. And to create a healthy base in which the fledgling mini-forest could grow and thrive, the soil was inoculated with beneficial fungi and microbes.
Pocket forests, or Miyawaki forests, touted as “tiny forests with big benefits” by the New York Times, have become a global trend.
The movement to create small, green areas within urban settings – similar to pocket parks – was pioneered by Japanese botanist and plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki.
Pocket forests can play a small but significant role in solving big environmental problems. Once the trees and shrubs mature, they not only provide shade for people and create mini-ecosystems for some of nature’s tiny creatures, their leaves capture and filter acid rain and other pollutants from the air.
Pocket forests that are springing up everywhere ensure shady, pavement-free zones in busy downtown or urban settings.
The recent pocket forest birthday celebration was attended by area notables such State Senator Jamie Eldridge and Devens Enterprise Commission Director Neil Angus, who said the DEC is working on several projects such as green roofs on some industrial buildings and reduced parking lot pavement.
He also noted an ongoing collaboration with students at the Parker Charter School, located in Devens, to plant a pocket forest near the school, next to the Native American Center on Antietam Street.
Laurie Nehring, of PACE (People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment.) also attended and her group’s awareness efforts include addressing PFAS (“forever chemicals” from plastics) in the water supply.
And another well-known Ayer resident, Marion Stoddart, whose efforts to rescue the once super-polluted and dying Nashua River helped lead to the passage of the Clean Waters Act in Congress in 1972. Her team’s dedicated work led to the Nashua River’s resurgence as a healthy waterway that sustains fish and wildlife and welcomes people.
Stoddart founded the Groton-based Nashua River Watershed Association in 1969. Now in her nineties, she is still an active member of the NRWA and a strong advocate for the environment. Like the pocket forest she helped plant in her adopted hometown.
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