Katharine Hayhoe

Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk, June 9, 2019

All around the world, people are planting tiny forests full of native plants on plots of land as small as a tennis court. These tiny forests — also called pocket forests, mini forests, and, in the U.K., “wee” forests — are based on principles developed in the 1970s by a Japanese botanist named Akira Miyawaki.

When I first heard about the Miyawaki forest being planted by middle-schoolers in California, I was amazed. “The reason we are planting the Miyawaki forests and using the Miyawaki method is to address climate change,” teacher Neelam Patil explained. By densely planting these small plots with native trees and shrubs, the competition between these plants for sunlight means that nearly a century’s worth of growth can be achieved in just a few decades.

Greening urban areas carries a host of benefits. These dense tiny forests cool their surrounding area, mitigating the urban heat island effect. The trees also filter pollution from the air, soak up floodwaters during heavy downpours, and provide a rich habitat for local wildlife. Because they’re so dense, these forests store more carbon than conventionally farmed trees would. And, as fifth-grader Lydia says here, “When I look at it, I feel very proud and I am happy that I’m helping the world.” That’s six wins!

Over 3000 projects around the world have already been created using Miyawaki’s methods, according to the British nonprofit Creating Tomorrow’s Forests. In Canada, six mini forests were planted last year while Amman, Jordan already has five mini forests and another in the works. Work on a new one on New York City’s small Roosevelt Island will begin this spring and an elementary schoolin McAllen, Texas is also getting one soon.

Want to learn more? Watch this video on the first tiny forest in Massachusetts, and consider starting one where you live. It’s a great project for neighbourhoods, communities and schools!

NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS

My cats, Dr. Evil and Mr. Jekyll

I love kittens – but even our cats Dr. Evil and Mr. Jekyll (pictured above) agree that a world with a longer, more active kitten season isn’t good for anyone.

Feral cats are typically most fertile when it’s warm out, and unfortunately, each year kitten season seems to be starting earlier and ending later. This means more kittens for already overloaded shelters, more feral cats, and more threats to biodiversity. One study estimated that outdoor, mostly unhomed, cats kill between 1 to 4 billion birds and 6 to 22 billion small mammals in the U.S. alone every year.

As you might guess, climate change – with its milder winters and earlier springtime – is likely responsible. Milder winters may mean more food, and so cats start mating earlier in the year than they have in the past. “No animal is going to breed unless they can survive,” says Christopher Lepczyk, an ecologist at Auburn University who studies free-ranging cats. Milder winters mean that last year’s kittens may survive in larger numbers, too. “I would argue that temperature really matters,” Lepczyk said.

And animal shelters cannot keep up. The Humane Society of America already likens each kitten season to a “natural disaster.” “As the population continues to explode, how do we address all these little lives that need our help?” asks Ann Dunn, director of Oakland Animal Services. “We’re giving this everything we have.”

INSPIRATION OF THE MONTH

YECA’s Steering Committee on an in-person retreat in Massachusetts, 2023

The post Small but Mighty Forests appeared first on Good News!.

EVENT:   Brooklyn, NY– May 4, 2014

Bishop Jefferts Schori was elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in June 2006. She serves as chief pastor and primate to the Episcopal Church’s members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses. She joins with other principal bishops of the 38-member Provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion, seeking a common cause for global good and reconciliation.

Over the course of her nine–year term, Bishop Jefferts Schori is responsible for initiating and developing policy for the Episcopal Church and speaks on behalf of the church regarding the policies, strategies, and programs authorized by General Convention. She has been vocal about the Episcopal Church’s mission priorities, including the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, issues of domestic poverty, climate change and care for the earth, as well as the ongoing need to contextualize the gospel. The Presiding Bishop is charged to speak God’s word to the church and to the world. 

About St. Philip’s Church:

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church has a long history in the Weeksville/Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. Just at the turn of the 19^th century, a group of African- Americans residing in Brooklyn, having experienced less than acceptance at an Episcopal church not far from where they lived, decided that it was time for them to establish an Episcopal Church near home, then the Weeksville area of Brooklyn. And so, they met at the home of one of their group, Mrs. Esther Reese, for that purpose.

Within a short period of time, they had obtained store-front space at 1887 Pacific Street and in May of 1899, the first service of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church was held. The church became a mission church in the diocese of Long Island. It attracted many Blacks: from the Caribbean, from Virginia and the Carolinas, and native Brooklynites.

In 1926, St Philip’s obtained full status as a parish of the diocese of Long Island and the Reverend Nathaniel Peterson Boyd became its first rector. Today, 115 years laterthe church continues its operations in the community and programs of outreach – among which are a food pantry, AA Program, home to one of the oldest boy’s troops (#263) in scouting, an active girl’s scouting troop, and a program of beautiful music, often shared with the community. It is looking forward to again housing an early childhood center.

For further information please visit our website at www.stphilipsbklyn.org or call us at 718-778-8700.

The post The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori Makes a Visit to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in celebration of its 115th year appeared first on Good News!.