Forests For Our cities by Errol Fernandes and Henrik Sjöman
Naturalistic planting, designing with plant communities and taking our lead from nature have become core principles in landscape design and contemporary horticultural practices. We understand better than ever that biodiverse, species rich environments are not just ecologically and environmentally valuable, they often act as a direct conduit, connecting people with nature and helping us deepen our relationship with it. Understanding the destructive impact that we often have on the environment, we could choose to see ourselves more like a keystone species within the ecosystems that we are part of, valuing coexistence and choosing to be a force for positive change. Errol Fernandes and Henrik Sjöman apply much of this thinking during their discussion at the Beth Chatto Symposium, Rewilding the Mind, 2022, looking at urban afforestation, the introduction of pockets of forests to our town and cities. They will explore why the introduction of micro forests can be so valuable, take a closer look at some of the crossover with contemporary horticultural practice and principles, and discuss some of the various approaches to establishing and maintaining urban forests.
