The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is building its first mini-forest.
Urban Community School students on Thursday helped plant more than 800 trees in an area the size of a tennis court at the zoo. The dense small forest is filled with native shrubs and trees such as dogwood, maple, and pawpaw.
In small areas, trees have to compete for sunlight and can grow as much as 10 times faster, said Christopher Kuhar, the zoo’s executive director.
“That means you have denser forests. You can sequester more carbon faster. You can create a cooler environment,” he said. “All the benefits of trees, such as air filtration and water absorption, are maximized when planted this way.”
The mini-forest is adjacent to the Fulton Road Bridge and nearby railroad tracks. Prior to planting, the site was blacktop, which was remediated and filled with compost prior to planting.
As the trees grow, the team will work with researchers at Baldwin Wallace University to study how much carbon is sequestered at the site, Kuhar said.
“These trees will grow five to 10 times faster than normally planted,” he said. “Mature trees sequester the most carbon, right? So the earlier you can bring them to maturity, the more impact you have.”
Rooted in Trees, a nonprofit organization promoting tree canopies, brought the idea to the zoo and Cleveland Urban Community Schools last October.
Paul Abbey, president and founder of the nonprofit organization, said student participation is essential to supporting the next generation of environmental activists.
“Rooted in Trees is all about education, and we know that if we take students in early in third, fourth, and fifth grade, they will love nature and become tree huggers for the rest of their lives.” he said. “The school found people in the class who really wanted to participate and quickly had 18 people raise their hands.”
Ellie Regan, environmental educator at Urban Community School, said stewardship is a priority for students and participating in this tree planting will give them an opportunity to engage.
“They just really wanted to do something,” President Reagan said. “Rather, it’s reading about something, watching something. They’re getting their hands dirty. That’s what’s really important to me as an educator.”
President Reagan said he hopes the little forest will remind students that there are actions they can take to protect the environment.
