Cultivating Connections: Inspiring Belgian Citizens to Reconnect with Nature

The sites of SUGi’s pocket forests across Belgium vary widely, from urban to rural, from a former car park to an ancestral forest in a village community. Many are at the heart of the community and invite people of all ages to reconnect with nature, whether they are involved in the planting or simply want to enjoy a peaceful escape among the trees. Perhaps most significantly, these forests give students an opportunity to literally get their hands dirty, learning about ecology and the environment while planting trees.

Nicolas de Brabandère is biologist, SUGi Forest Maker, Founder of Urban Forests Belgium, and created the first Miyawaki forest in Belgium. We had the opportunity to speak with Nicolas, whose expertise has been key to the success of our forests throughout Belgium.

SUGi: Nicolas, many of the forests you’ve planted with SUGi have either been in schools or planted in collaboration with students, including St Joseph Forest, Don Bosco College Forest, and Gilly School Forest. What kind of impact have you seen on the schools and students? What benefits or changes do you see as a result of the pocket forests being there?

Nicolas: Before even planting the first tree, the first step is to try to convince the professors that this is a good project that they can do in their school. I have to encourage them to do something — not just teach their students but get them to do something real.

After that, it’s not difficult to catch the students’ attention. When I talk about trees and forests and how trees and fungi communicate and the whole lifecycle of a forest, kids love it. It shows that the flame isn’t gone. People are interested.

S: You maintain relationships with the schools and students after the planting day. With this opportunity to observe them over time, do you see impacts beyond interest or excitement from the students?

N: Kids [today] don’t have ecology classes. They have no idea what an ecosystem is, how it works. They don’t know what a tree needs to live well and have no idea about the carbon cycle. They spend so much time in classes that they don’t know how to use their hands. [Many of them] have never touched the soil. They can’t recognize any tree species and they can’t make connections between habitats and the animals using them to make a living.

We also live in an increasingly individualistic society. Being in nature and doing things with nature brings about so much more empathy. People collaborate much more easily and find it easier to do things together. Sometimes I’ll match up a 12 year old and a 5 year old and I see how much the older kid loves showing the younger kids how it’s done. It is so positive.

Kids get more comfortable relating to each other. They become more hopeful. But it’s also great for them to get out of the classroom, to feel their bodies and use their hands.

We live in a very quick society — you can press a button on your phone and get something. When you plant a tree and make a forest it takes time. You have to care for it. It’s interesting for kids to realize this, to realize that they have to build it, go step-by-step, and be patient.

S: Students aren’t the only beneficiaries of our pocket forests. Several of the forests we’ve planted together, like the Tour & Taxis forest in the heart of Brussels, are in areas that people of all ages and professions may come across or use. Why is this important?

N: So many people walk through the park where Tour & Taxis forest is everyday. By creating a Miyawaki forest there, people can see it not only as it is, but also how it grows over time and changes.

Cities like Brussels push nature further and further to the margins. Nature shrinks. But the Miyawaki method and this forest shows people that we can do things side by side [with nature]. We can keep doing things while sharing space with nature — and it does us good. It looks good in the landscape, it feels good, and it can cool us on a hot day. The air feels fresher and we can even hear birds. Basically, it helps bring back some sanity in this crazy world. It’s lovely.

S: You are a biologist by training and have spent time exploring ecosystems all over the world. What makes you such a proponent of not just planting trees but planting Miyawaki forests in particular?

N: I’m interested in the idea that we can actually bring back something that we’ve lost. Humans have changed the landscape so much. We don’t really know what’s authentic anymore. Are things good as they are? Can they be better? More diverse?

The Miyawaki method helps us see how much we’ve deviated from the old forests by rebuilding them. People can easily see the difference, which can trigger questions within them and help them realize that we’ve lost something.

Beyond that, I love how quick the results are. You can start from very degraded land and build back an ecosystem in just a few years. The simplicity of this methodology also reveals how little people know about ecology.

People don’t learn ecology in school. They don’t realize simple things and connect the dots, like if you want butterflies in your neighborhood, you need flowers so you have food for them, a hiding place, a resting place. People have no idea. They’ve totally lost [the connection to] nature.

But the planting process also creates an opportunity for citizens to gather together. Many of them want to do something for their neighborhood or city and I’m always impressed with how many people like it and what a big reach these plantings have.

S: What do you think motivates people to get involved?

N: I think people want community. They want to meet people, hear their experiences, and then realize that we all have different reasons for doing it. Some people feel miserable about the state of the planet and want to do something. Some people simply want to get involved with their community, while others are interested in the scientific element. Some do it for education, some do it because they see the degradation around them and they want to do something so that it gets better. There are so many reasons.

At first, people may be skeptical. When you plant [the forests], the trees are so small. And maybe the first year or two it doesn’t look that good, it’s a bit messy. But that doesn’t stop people from participating. It gives them hope. Then a few years later they’re very impressed with how quickly it grows. Two, three, four years and bang, the forest is right there. It puts people into action.

When they experience creating the Miyawaki forest, they talk about it to their friends, to family members. They might talk about it at work or go see their political leader and start talking about it. They put pressure on stakeholders to create more forests, because they see how it can make their neighborhoods better.

It really triggers something, you know. It’s incredible.

S: You’ve done a lot of research on forests and have some interesting statistics about the Miyawaki method. Can you share some of your key observations?

N: Simply put, the Miyawaki method works. The average growth for both trees and shrubs is 75 centimeters a year. The average mortality rate of the trees is about 24% over a six year period. And this figure is [slightly inflated] because forests in schools are usually more damaged due to kids playing.

On average, the infiltration rate of a Miyawaki forest is six times higher than grassland after just 3-6 years. Miyawaki forests also have an effect on temperatures. You see a massive difference between forests and grasslands or concrete slabs: as much as 15-35 degrees Celsius.

And when you look at soil samples under a microscope, the difference in microorganisms is massive. There is so much going on in a Miyawaki forest, including bacteria, fungi, amoeba, nematodes, and more. If all of these organisms are present, the trees will grow properly.

These forests are also extremely resilient to drought. While it may slow growth, it doesn’t kill the trees. As I already said, they have a much higher survival rate than others.

S: This resilience is one of the key reasons we are proponents of the Miyawaki method. As the world faces changing weather patterns and increasingly challenging environmental conditions, it is all the more important to ensure that our efforts won’t be in vain. Have you seen this play out in any of the forests you’ve planted?

N: The Bee Forest and Mandelwijk Forest [both in Oudenburg] don’t look as good as some of the other forests. At one point I was desperate, thinking they would fail. But they both survived the worst drought in decades (in 2022) without watering. I thought there would be huge mortality, but with more rain some of the trees that I thought were dead began to sprout. I was surprised to observe this drastic change from one year to the next — but it’s just further proof that the Miyawaki method works.

Discover the all SUGi Pocket Forests in Belgium.