Thank you, Mr. Miyawaki - Learning New Ways with Pocket Forests
Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Auditorium, 1800 N Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105 Map
Public Welcome Free Event Chapter Meeting Program/Speaker Presentation Wheelchair Accessible Public Restroom Drinking Fountains
A panel presentation by Lissa Spitz, Meg Delaney, Joan Martin, Cathy Bach
The Ann Arbor Pocket Forest, installed in 2024, is modeled on a method advanced by the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Panelists will share the history and purpose of this planting and what has been learned, and what remains to be exploredin this collboration. The panelists are part of the team that, with strong volunteer support from Wild Ones, Citizens Climate Lobby, Buhr Park Children’s Wetmeadow Project, and the broader community, created and maintained the Buhr Park Pocket Forest in Ann Arbor. As far as we know, it is the first Miyawaki-style native plant forest in Michigan.
OUR PANELISTS
Meg Delaney is an A3WO member and the chapter's Secretary, and she also serves as a Board member of the national Wild Ones organization. Meg is an avid cyclist, camper, and native plant gardener. Her small city garden began as a haven for songbirds and pollinators, and is still expanding. A retired librarian, Meg has a gift for organization and good documentation that is positively poetic.
Lissa Spitz, a Wild Ones member, is a native plant gardener and an architect and principal/project manager at A3C Collaborative Architecture. Lissa is also an artist—she operates the River District Studio and her work features themes and shapes from nature.
Joan Martin has been involved in the stewardship movement in Washtenaw County and the Huron River watershed for more than 30 years. A biologist by training, Joan spent 20 years at the Huron River Watershed Council, where she created the country’s premier river health monitoring programs, training hundreds of river stewards to monitor the river’s health. She is now applying her interest in a scientific approach to environmental health to the Pocket Forest's ongoing project to monitor its biological and environmental effects over time.
Cathy Bach is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at Eastern Michigan University; she also taught for over 20 summers at the University of Michigan Biological Station. Cathy is particularly known for her research on the interaction between herbivorous insects and plants. She is excited to be able to apply her scientific experience to help to monitor animals in the pocket forest.
PARKING: Metered parking is available at Matthaei Botanical Gardens; members park for free.