WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.650 --> 00:00:06.850 Stefan Scharfe has a dream: he wants to grow mini primeval forests, 2 00:00:06.850 --> 00:00:10.110 known as "tiny forests", across Germany. 3 00:00:11.940 --> 00:00:15.620 After raising 14 thousand euros through crowdfunding, 4 00:00:15.700 --> 00:00:18.290 the forest scientist and his colleagues planted 5 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:21.780 their first tiny forest in the German state of Brandenburg: 6 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:24.668 a total of 3,000 ground cover plants, 7 00:00:24.668 --> 00:00:27.600 shrubs, and trees, all native species. 8 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:29.721 Densely planted, they compete for light 9 00:00:29.721 --> 00:00:32.080 and so grow relatively quickly. 10 00:00:32.300 --> 00:00:36.179 Japanese plant sociologist Akira Miyawaki developed 11 00:00:36.179 --> 00:00:40.179 the tiny forest concept in the 1980s. 12 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:45.140 They’re small primeval forests, rich in species, wild and resilient 13 00:00:45.220 --> 00:00:47.679 and particularly suitable for cities. 14 00:00:50.929 --> 00:00:53.880 I've brought a few examples of how a Miyawaki forest could 15 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:57.330 potentially develop a very dense, green wall. 16 00:00:58.980 --> 00:01:02.300 Various shrubs, climbing plants up to really tall trees at the back, 17 00:01:02.300 --> 00:01:04.292 so that after a really short time you have 18 00:01:04.292 --> 00:01:07.840 an impenetrable primeval forest or a replica of one. 19 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:13.897 And that can have a cooling effect on areas 20 00:01:13.897 --> 00:01:15.240 suffering in the heat. 21 00:01:16.860 --> 00:01:20.100 Stefan Scharfe looked to natural processes occuring 22 00:01:20.100 --> 00:01:24.860 in native woodland to understand what tiny forests need to thrive. 23 00:01:26.890 --> 00:01:30.291 These leaves, the biomass that drops from the trees, 24 00:01:30.291 --> 00:01:32.890 we try to compensate for in the first few years 25 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:35.290 by laying down straw or chopped hardwood. 26 00:01:37.100 --> 00:01:39.920 The aim is to ignite a process. 27 00:01:40.460 --> 00:01:43.290 We provide the forest system with what it would normally develop 28 00:01:43.300 --> 00:01:47.694 itself over a few decades, and then, after a short time, 29 00:01:47.694 --> 00:01:50.110 leave it to its own devices. 30 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:52.960 The forest doesn't need to laboriously build up 31 00:01:52.970 --> 00:01:56.970 this soil life and this humus, because it's there from the start. 32 00:01:59.327 --> 00:02:03.250 Scharfe and his colleagues enriched part of this field with nutrients, 33 00:02:03.250 --> 00:02:07.210 according to Miyawaki's concept, before planting the trees and shrubs. 34 00:02:07.730 --> 00:02:11.610 They left another part of the soil as it was, so not enriched. 35 00:02:11.610 --> 00:02:12.880 Would there be a difference? 36 00:02:12.890 --> 00:02:17.290 A 3D scanner shows how the plants are developing. 37 00:02:19.100 --> 00:02:20.560 And the results are clear. 38 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:25.780 On the right-hand area, where the soil was prepared, 39 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:28.640 there is far more vigorous growth. 40 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:37.100 This is the very most vital corner we have, it's so dense. 41 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:41.650 The forestry expert wants to garner enthusiasm 42 00:02:41.660 --> 00:02:44.120 for tiny forests throughout Germany. 43 00:02:44.980 --> 00:02:47.218 He's now on his way to a hospital campus, 44 00:02:47.218 --> 00:02:50.610 with a piece of wasteland which will be turned into a forest. 45 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:52.520 The soil has already been prepared. 46 00:02:54.260 --> 00:02:57.200 There's much to do before the first trees go into the ground. 47 00:02:57.300 --> 00:03:01.500 Stefan Scharfe mixes native ground shrubs, woody plants, 48 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:04.400 and tree seedlings into planting bundles. 49 00:03:06.130 --> 00:03:10.290 Hospital staff and patients, interested parties and, above all, 50 00:03:10.290 --> 00:03:13.290 children are warmly invited to the planting day. 51 00:03:18.380 --> 00:03:22.180 So, this is a tree and this is its root. 52 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:25.780 And when we plant a tree, we make the hole deep enough 53 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:27.210 for the root to fit into. 54 00:03:27.220 --> 00:03:30.786 We want to see roughly where the root ends. 55 00:03:30.786 --> 00:03:32.880 That's where it should be in the ground. 56 00:03:37.090 --> 00:03:39.701 For Stefan Scharfe, tiny forests can play 57 00:03:39.701 --> 00:03:42.955 an important educational role teaching the next generation 58 00:03:42.955 --> 00:03:47.850 how to plant a green powerhouse amid the asphalt and concrete. 59 00:03:49.380 --> 00:03:52.578 That's important because tiny forests have a lot to offer cities 60 00:03:52.578 --> 00:03:54.600 in the face of climate change. 61 00:03:54.660 --> 00:03:58.340 They clean the air of particulate matter, sulphur dioxides, 62 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:03.660 and nitrogen oxides and boast 18 times more biodiversity 63 00:04:03.660 --> 00:04:05.600 than in natural mixed forests. 64 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:10.810 Surface temperatures in the forest shade can be up to 30 degrees Celsius 65 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:13.350 lower than on sealed surfaces. 66 00:04:13.890 --> 00:04:15.419 And they have a cooling effect 67 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:17.499 on surrounding air temperatures, too, 68 00:04:17.499 --> 00:04:19.890 dropping them by 2 to 3 degrees. 69 00:04:21.010 --> 00:04:23.750 What about watering the forest later on? 70 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.490 As a rule of thumb, the Tiny Forest is watered 71 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:30.219 for another two to three years 72 00:04:30.219 --> 00:04:33.150 and then no longer needs any outside input. 73 00:04:36.390 --> 00:04:39.320 A lot of time and commitment went into preparing 74 00:04:39.320 --> 00:04:41.710 and planting this first Tiny Forest here, 75 00:04:41.710 --> 00:04:44.880 but after just four months it's paying off. 76 00:04:45.090 --> 00:04:49.359 The former wasteland is already offering up its first delicacies!