The Metro: New ‘micro-forest’ takes root in Rochester

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People gathered for the recent opening of a micro forest in Rochester.

People gathered for the recent opening of a micro forest in Rochester.

In Rochester, a dense grove of 300 native trees and shrubs is taking root behind City Hall planted by volunteers, city staff and master gardeners.

The 1,000-square-foot micro-forest sits on a plot previously used as a garbage dump. Its design is based on a Japanese method called the Miyawaki Technique, utilizing densely planted native trees and on heavily degraded soils.

Rochester City Council Member Marilyn Trent is the founder of the nonprofit Rochester Pollinators, which led the project in collaboration with the city. She says the initiative is just one innovative way to restore natural habitats and green spaces in the community.

Listen: Trent speaks with WDET’s Amanda LeClaire about Rochester micro-forest at grand opening

Trent joined The Metro on Monday to share more about the forest and her experience working with Rochester Pollinators.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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Authors

  • Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning journalist and managing editor and lead reporter of WDET's new environmental series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project, as well as WDET's CuriosiD podcast. She was the host of WDET’s CultureShift and a founding producer of the station’s flagship news talk show *Detroit Today*. Amanda also served as a Morning Edition host at WDET and previously worked as a host, audio and video producer, and reporter for Arizona Public Media.
  • Robyn Vincent
    Robyn Vincent is the co-host of The Metro on WDET. She is an award-winning journalist, a lifelong listener of WDET, and a graduate of Wayne State University, where she studied journalism. Before returning home to Detroit, she was a reporter, producer, editor, and executive producer for NPR stations in the Mountain West, including her favorite Western station, KUNC. She received a national fellowship from Investigative Reporters and Editors for her investigative work that probed the unchecked power of sheriffs in Colorado. She was also the editor-in-chief of an alternative weekly newspaper in Wyoming, leading the paper to win its first national award for a series she directed tracing one reporter’s experience living and working with Syrian refugees.
  • Nadia Zyiad
  • The Metro