Miniflorestas, Grandes Impactos

CSO: Laboratório da Paisagem de Guimarães – Associação Para A Promoção do Desenvolvimento Sustentável
Area: Sustainable Cities
Location: Guimarães

Type of project

The project methodology is very interesting as it applies an innovative model – the plantation of Miyawaki forests. The Citiziens participate in the forest plantation and its follow up, getting truly engaged.

It aims to promote greener and more resilient cities and thus combat climate change, raising awareness of the importance of native forests, planting mini Miyawaki forests in school spaces in Guimarães city and working on the feeling of belonging to the spaces created.

Target (Disengaged)

The main target are students (from 4 to 10 years old), but citizens in general will also be involved as volunteers.
The project aims to reinforce those already sensitized and to involve new volunteers who are less sensitized.

Science – Based

Miyawaki forests offer medium and long-term benefits, both in terms of biodiversity and in terms of carbon sequestration.

Regarding scientific evidence, the CSO refers to technical support from the University of Minho and the University of Trás os Montes and Alto Douro, and specialized project teams.

In R3, the CSO will monitor biodiversity in the forests by using citizen science.

Gender

Gender issues are considered comprehensively, since the communities involved are made up of a diverse audience. This context provides an inclusive environment, where not only gender dynamics are respected, but also social inclusion, in its broadest sense, is guaranteed.

Students divided by age group and gender per school (50% boys and 50% girls).

The team allocated to the project is made up of 2 environmental education technicians. Strategic supervision will be the responsibility of a women, Sustainability Education Coordinator at the Laboratory of Landscape.

Planned activities

3 pilot schools (400 students), with a replicable model
1000 volunteers in Green Brigades from the community in general.

Promotion of the valorization of indigenous forests and the adoption of biodiversity conservation and mitigation strategies impacts of climate change:

120 participants in the trainning sessions.
6 nest boxes for birds; 6 bat shelters; 6 insect hotels built and installed during the training sessions.
90% maximum rating of level of satisfaction measured by survey regarding the participation in the sessions.

Citizen empowerment through co-creation and Miyawaki mini forest plantation:

3 mini forests created with 40 trees per forest
Estimate of carbon sequestered by miniforest – approximately 0.5 tons of CO2 kidnapped over a period of 10 years considering a 100% survival rate.
260 participants in activities of co-creation and plantation.
400 participants in monitoring continuous biodiversity through the registration of fauna and flora species in miniforests.

Promoting citizen involvement in protection and conservation and a sense of belonging to spaces rehabilitated:

120 downloads of the conservation guide and forest monitoring.
30 species of fauna and flora recorded in the inventory and monitoring through citizen science.

Action model

The project has 3 results:

R1 is about the promotion of the valorization of indigenous forests and the adoption of biodiversity conservation and mitigation strategies impacts of climate change. So the aim is to raise awareness and do training on the importance of native forests as areas that enhance biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation. To this end, training sessions by theme (construction of tree nest boxes, bat shelters, insect hotels, etc.), will be delivered.
R2 is about empowering citizens through the co-creation and planting of mini-forests, with land selection and preparation activities to accommodate the miniforest. It includes the creation of information signs about the forest (area, trees/shrubs, biodiversity).
R3 is to promote the involvement of citizens in protection and conservation with a sense of belonging to rehabilitated spaces, with the creation of a conservation guide and the promotion of citizen science for inventorying and monitoring biodiversity.
The action model is clear and coherent. The indicators are SMART and they will facilitate the measurement of the results achieved.
It does have a scaling up potential as many other miniforests