In September 2023, ten inches of rain fell in Attleboro and Leominster, Massachusetts. The stormwater and flooding that followed caused tens of millions of dollars. Some advised people living in the flood plain to move to more expensive places. It was as if they should pay the price, while the community turned its back, cursing the carbon dioxide burden in the atmosphere.
At the Ocean River Institute, we see the problem differently, and responsibility lies with us. The annual rainfall amounts have not changed. We are experiencing more stormwater because vegetation and soils have been removed and replaced by hard surfaces and heat islands. Once, we allowed the rainwater to seep into the land, nurturing healthy soils and plants. Now, stormwater erodes the land, smothering it with sediments, washing pollutants into waterways, and transferring heat from our constructions to the sea to warm the climate.
The solution we proposed is a forest composed of a diverse range of native woody plants that collaborate through the mycorrhizal network of fungi and bacteria, enabling them to grow ten times faster than a stand of a single tree species. Healthy soils six inches deep can absorb ten inches of rainwater, thanks to sticky carbohydrates that keep minerals spaced out (think of bread mopping up milk). A diverse forest designed by botanist Akira Miyawaki can produce a few inches of new soil each year.
We are rallying with Attleboro residents and businesses to build a pocket forest in an abandoned ball field, O’Connor Field, between the High School and the Capron Park Zoo. High school students and volunteers are looking forward to digging in and planting trees in the spring, if we can raise the necessary funds.
Thirty-five native woody plant species are available at the local nursery. The plan is to plant a pocket forest densely in 2,000 square feet. The right mix and number of woody plants will cost $10,000.
Native trees in Attleboro pocket forests manage stormwater more efficiently.
This is a pilot forest, one of many to come. Attleboro is the first city to manage stormwater more naturally by creating Miyawaki forests. Pocket forests that restore and protect the areas in most need will require state and possibly federal funding. We are showing how it's done, and this is just the start.
Like an acorn, the gift you give today will inspire others and grow like the mighty oak into a forest for all to enjoy.
Thank you,
Rob
