By NIKHIL SABNIS, Age 10
When you think of New York City, you generally do not think of clean air and places with lush greenery and rich biodiversity. One may think of polluted air, cramped apartments, and no growing space for trees or plants. This could change quite soon thanks to the development of the Manhattan Healing Forest.
The Manhattan Forest is going to be a mini forest located on Roosevelt Island on the East River between Manhattan and Queens. According to the New York Post, the forest will support many different kinds of plants and animals. This forest will be the first of its kind in the city, featuring more than 1,000 different native plants that once covered the hills in Manhattan until urban development cleared the land. According to the forest’s developers, the forest will be approximately 2,700 square feet, which is the size of a standard tennis court. Though small, this forest will have massive benefits to the area, including cleaner air quality and cooling on hot days, explains the New York Times.
This forest will be created using sustainable planting techniques, specifically the Miyawaki style. First, developers will clear the land of everything, then lay down a layer of mulch, compost and dirt. Then, native shrubs and plants are closely planted together and taken care of for three years, until the forest is completely self-sufficient.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine hopes to build more of these forests in low-income communities of color. The Guardian explains how fewer cooling systems, both natural, like trees, and person-made, including air conditioning, are put into place in these communities. A street-level heat assessment revealed the temperature in the Bronx was 8 degrees hotter than the wealthier Upper West Side neighborhood.
These kinds of mini forests have popped up across the globe, in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Though small, these forests become amazing, beneficial ecosystems that can thrive in all conditions. “Biodiversity is completely linked with the climate crisis,” says Elise Van Middelem, founder of SUGi, a nonprofit organization that is planting the forest. “The array of beauty that comes back where there was nothing is just remarkable.”
