PUBLIC Services
Greening public infrastructure !
By planting microforests within your community you will show how public authorities can play a crucial role in creating attractive green spaces for everyone. Microforests improve the living environment and they provide habitats that enhance biodiversity. They require little maintenance.
Microforests in public spaces
Reduce the need for maintenance
Microforests require little human intervention, and certainly need less work than a lawn. This reduces the costs of upkeep and frees up time and resources, while creating sustainable, attractive green spaces in which biodiversity can flourish.
Participatory projects
The microforest enhances the living environment and creates a dynamic communal space, where residents can meet, relax and connect with nature. The tree planting takes place as a participatory event.
For all public spaces
A microforest can be planted in all sorts of situations: meeting places, public squares, sports complexes, schools or even in another park.
Individual support
To ensure the success of your project, we’ll support you every step of the way, from design and tree planting, to technical aspects and advice on the forest’s upkeep. Upkeep is carried out by you.
Impacts
There are many goals for public authorities to achieve :
- A restored area of native biodiversity in the urban environment
- Improved quality of life for residents by having the forest in their neighbourhood
- An additional element of vegetation that brings coolness and nature to the city
- Raised awareness on the part of the residents for environmental issues
- Positive communications
- Reduced need for maintenance
Examples of our work on behalf of local authorities
We have experience of numerous public infrastructure projects. Each project is unique and specific to a particular context. These initiatives have transformed plots of land into self-sustaining ecosystems, reducing the costs of maintenance while enriching the living environment for residents.
3 years
A village in Champagne-Ardenne where trees are in short supply and the inhabitants suffer from the heat in summer. This microforest is intended to create a friendly meeting place in the village. Planting took place in March 2020.
2 years
This microforest was requested by local people in order to have a new green space, an island of freshness, and to make the area more pleasant. The project is set in a square that also accommodates a school, residential blocks and a summer market.
5 years
A microforest planted for a municipality in the north of France, at the request of local residents. This was designed to create a screen between a road and a public sports ground.
2,5 years
The municipality of Woluwé-Saint-Lambert wanted to create an island of coolness and an area of biodiversity at the heart of the city. It is virtually zero-maintenance.
1,5 year
Instead of a car park, the city of Mechelen decided to create a microforest full of biodiversity. The park’s many visitors enjoy the forest every day.
2,5 years
Before, because of nearby road traffic and a lack of shade in summer, few people used the Paul Joly park in Marly. The large microforest is now growing rapidly, creating a sound barrier and beautifying the area.
2,5 years
The Sansonnet park was not very attractive and its trees were dying because of the heat and drought. The local council decided to make the park’s management more ecological, and this microforest is now one of its key features.
What other benefits might a microforest bring ?
Microforests are miniature ecosystems that combine environmental conservation with social benefits. They can perform a number of other functions :
A microforest is a powerful tool for awareness-raising. It provides an immediate, tangible experience of nature that sensitises people for ecological issues.
Microforests act as natural sound barriers, absorbing and diminishing ambient noise. The density of their foliage provides effective acoustic insulation that improves the comfort of work spaces.
With their diversity of plants and trees, microforests can transform what are often monotonous spaces into a green paradise. The trees’ foliage or their bright autumn colours always provide inspiring visual scenery.
The forests attract an astonishing level of biodiversity, including birds, butterflies and fungi. Life teems abundantly in these green havens, as microforests invite nature to reclaim its rightful place.
Because they are situated close to people – in gardens, around a neighbourhood, at schools and in workplaces – Miyawaki forests become meeting places; they encourage social interaction and strengthening community ties.
Miyawaki forests create a more comfortable microclimate for people in the immediate vicinity. Not only is the air cooler, it is also less dry, and the vegetation provides much appreciated shade.
Microforests develop into natural sight screens that mask unappealing views. With their dense vegetation, they transform working environments into more aesthetic and calming spaces.
Miyawaki forests can help reduce run-off and erosion by retaining water and improving infiltration into the soil. The roots absorb rainwater and release it more slowly into the environment.
Natural spaces within a school are a wonderful source of inspiration and discovery, offering pupils unique opportunities to learn, observe and explore.
In the media
A selection of articles and broadcasts on urban forests planted with local authorities.
- Video report in Canal32 «Pont-Sainte-Marie : une micro-forêt prend racine au cœur de l’éco-quartier», October 2024.
- Video report on the local broadcaster BX1 « Plantation de la plus grande forêt urbaine à Anderlecht«, October 2022 – VIDEO
- Video interview with Nicolas de Brabandère on Moselle TV « Les forêts urbaines dans Naturellement Moselle«, November 2021 – VIDEO
- Video report on Urban Forests’ Miyawaki forests, produced 4 November 2021, during COP26. « Tiny forests packing a major ecological punch spring up across Europe », November 2021 – VIDEO
- Article published as part of the Congrès de Hortis, 2020 « La nature, levier de résilience des sites et paysages industriels », October 2020
It’s a pleasure to work with Urban Forests on forest-planting projects in our city. I like their commitment to biodiversity and their deep knowledge of nature and its capacity to sustain itself, as well as their methods that follow natures rhythms and respect them. This work is invaluable in preserving our natural environment. Nicolas and his team are passionate about sharing their knowledge with the greatest humility and authenticity. It’s both remarkable and inspiring.
We created a magnificent Miyawaki forest in collaboration with Urban Forests. They pay a great deal of attention to biodiversity, have plenty of experience, and they clearly control the quality of their projects. Everything went smoothly, from design to planting. Since then they’ve monitored the upkeep, and it’s always nice to see them each time !
It’s essential to bringing nature back to the city. That is what the organisation Urban Forests does, with a great deal of conviction, good humour and professionalism. I’m inspired by this kind of work. I was lucky enough to be there for the planting of two microforests. It was great. The people who took part, children and adults alike, they were all smiles. There’s a lot of good energy and it really does you good.