At present, Raosaheb Patwardhan Udyan in Bandra-Khar is in the news for the simple reason that an underground parking lot for vehicles will be constructed beneath it, possibly leading to the destruction of its green canopy. Of late, the dwindling green cover in Mumbai and the lack of open spaces available to children and seniors have become causes for much concern to the citizens. Against this background, the active environmentalists who have been vociferously advocating urban forestation with the Miyawaki method are back in the limelight.
Dr. Akira Miyawaki of Japan was a botanist and ecologist who propagated a new approach to urban forestation through a four-layered greening of degraded lands in urban areas. Only seeds from native trees are sown in a tight cluster in soil that is enriched with rice husk, coco-peat, new soil and manure. In their battle for sunlight and water, the saplings achieve rapid growth and maximum density.
There are thousands of Miyawaki micro forest trees in India from Delhi to Chennai, from Thiruvananthapuram to Hyderabad and more. Mumbai already sports a few of these thick jungles that prove to be the lungs of the industrialized localities of the city.
A thick wall of greenery in the forty-two-acre Nisarg Udyan in Navi Mumbai is a fine example of how swiftly and densely the trees, bushes, creepers, saplings and grasses grow in the Miyawaki method! An erstwhile dumping ground in Navi Mumbai was painstakingly developed and today it is a forest teeming with all kinds of life, including humans. More than sixty types of saplings were originally planted in four layers- tall trees, short trees, creepers and bushes with grass. The trees chosen were Kadamba, Peepal, Neem, Palas and Jamun which grow in clusters hugging each other, providing shade to the green layers of growth beneath.
The micro Miyawaki forests have also been successfully grown in Mulund, Kandivali, Wadala and Thane. Mumbaikars would surely support this venture of creating more green spaces to improve the air quality, decrease temperatures and induce rain in their city. Since urban forestation can be swiftly achieved through the Miyawakin method, the day may not be far when such a cool oasis of greenery will come into existence in Bandra too!
