Portland students combat climate change with tiny forest project

PORTLAND, Ore. — A group of local high school students is taking the initiative to help slow down climate change. In West Portland, about 15 Catlin Gabel students have built a tiny forest in their school’s backyard.

“This really stands as a symbol of what we can do as a community,” said Catlin Gabel sophomore Atharva Deepak. “This is something different from learning about the effects of climate change at 8:30 a.m. in a sterile classroom. You know? This is something where you really get to learn hands-on.”

The idea came from Catlin Gabel social studies teacher Patrick Walsh in 2021 while listening to a BBC radio broadcast. That’s when he heard about the Miyawaki method — named after Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. The concept, developed in the 1970s, speeds up the growing process by placing native species close together.

“I talked to the head of our school and she was really supportive right away, which I was really excited about,” said Walsh. “[With the Miyawaki method] the plants will compete for sunlight because they are sort of jammed in together. And so, they would grow much more quickly, which these three trees have.”

About 600 plants and trees have been squeezed into a tennis court-size plot over the last three years. Forty-five different native plants, trees and flowers have found a home thanks to the students in the Environmental Action Team (EAT).

“It’s pretty Oregon, definitely,” said Teresa Walsh, a senior at Catlin Gabel.

Teresa, who serves as a leader for the school’s student EAT, adds that she wants to be part of the fight against climate change.

“Having conversations around climate change, its impacts, what the community can do to help is really helpful in staying hopeful in something that’s hard to think about,” said Teresa.

And while it might not seem like much to some, this effort is everything and more to this environmental group full of hopeful young adults.

Patrick shares his hopes for this ever-growing project he’s made possible for himself and his students.

“I am hoping that my students, that young people coming to the school, will have that connection starting here. But I want them to have that connection, wherever they live,” he said. “I also hope it serves as a model for other schools to incorporate more natural spaces into their open spaces.”