Abstract
Globally, biodiversity is increasingly under threat, with action required at the national level to mitigate the crisis. However, at the local level, citizens often feel powerless to act. This is where planting of Miyawaki forests has become an increasingly popular choice for non-government organisations, community groups and local councils. The Miyawaki methodology is attractive because these forests are perceived to be small scale projects that can be carried out by citizen scientists, and have considerable environmental benefits. This rationale stems from reports of Miyawaki forests exhibiting high growth rates and biodiversity: forests have been reported to grow up to ten times faster and contain up to 100 times the biodiversity of forests planted using traditional reforesting techniques. As such, these tiny forests punch above their tiny size in terms of their ability to become the hero for engaging the community in environmental action, as well as creation of biodiversity hotspots and more liveable urban environments. To test how well these forests can be planted and monitored by citizen scientists, a Miyawaki forest has been planted by children at a local Perth primary school under the guidance of a researcher. Children will monitor the forest as citizen scientists over the next ten years, gathering data on plant growth, animal and plant biodiversity and forest temperature regimes. The researcher will investigate soil biodiversity using eDNA, microbial activity and soil nutrients. There is a paucity of data available on the biological performance of Miyawaki forests. As such, the project will provide valuable information to decision makers, enabling more informed decisions on whether the more prescriptive Miyawaki method is the most suitable use of resources relative to environmental outcomes for urban revegetation programmes, and help us determine if these tiny forests really can be a big hero for community led environmental action.