Garden Pocket Forest

A Pocket Forest is a small area of densely planted native trees, shrubs and ground cover plants, to create a woodland ecosystem in the heart of towns and cities. Working from the soil up we prepare the ground with people who live, work or learn beside the forest.

A Garden Pocket Forest is planted in an area of at least 6 square metres and involves planting 5 trees with an understory of 6 native shrubs. The ground layer is made up of Irish wildflowers grown from wild Irish seed.

Pocket Forests are based on Miyawake-style forests and combine this concept with proven permaculture methods to further evolve the idea to include recycled local materials and bring a circular economy idea to a green use for city waste. This method produces fast growing multi-layered forests which enables people who plant them to enjoy the fruits of their labour quickly. Planting diverse species guarantees biodiverse mini ecosystems are created in the urban areas where they are most lacking.

Pocket Forest allows communities to restore the wellbeing that comes from connecting with nature and to create healthy resilient ecosystems using recycled waste materials and native plants.

As part of the Microsoft Dublin Community Challenge you can get funding of €400 which covers the cost of trees and materials to plant a Garden Pocket Forest in your school or an area that will benefit your local community. The Pocket Forest team will support you throughout the process from site selection to soil preparation and planting.