Curious about miniforests? The Countdown Is On! Ready for the 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit? Full Agenda Out Now | July 15–23

[Alexandra Ionescu]

Dear RIIEA Community, I thought some of you might be interested in the 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit!  The Summit includes three events: TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 15 – 6 - 9 pm ET – Virtual screening of Making a Mini-Forest, followed by a live conversation and audience Q&A with filmmaker Angelina Lee. It's a perfect start/introduction!  SATURDAY, July 18 – 9 - 5 pm ET – Massachusetts Miniforest Bus Tour, visiting four inspiring miniforest sites and meeting the people who brought them to life. We currently have 6 seats open out of 40! Two of the miniforests we are visiting are at high schools!  NEXT WEEK, Wednesday & Thursday, July 22–23 – 12 - 5/6 pm ET– Virtual Summit featuring keynote talks, presentations, panel discussions, networking, and conversations exploring planning, implementation, stewardship, research, soil ecology, and more of miniforests and the Miyawaki Method! We'll also have a panel dedicated to education, stewardship, and learning. Please see below our newsletter that we sent out yesterday too with more information!  Learn more and register here: miniforests.bio4climate.org  Please contact me with any questions at minif...@bio4climate.org  With gratitude, Alexandra  Dear RIIEA Community,    The countdown is on for the 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit – Root to Canopy: Growing the Miyawaki Method – July 15–23!      The Summit week begins in just two days!   Whether you've already registered for one or more events or are still considering joining us, thank you for being part of this growing community.   Join more than 20 speakers across three events and join us for a rare opportunity to learn from two extraordinary keynote speakers: Mio Urata, one of the world's most experienced Miyawaki Forest Makers, who has helped establish more than 150 Miyawaki forests in Japan and beyond, many alongside Professor Akira Miyawaki, and Ethan Tapper, forester and bestselling author of How to Love a Forest. Join the Summit There's still time to register for any—or all three—events! Happening This Week Making a Mini-Forest Film (Virtual) July 15 | 7–9 PM ET Massachusetts Miniforest Bus Tour (In-Person) July 18 | 9 AM–5 PM ET Coming Next Week 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit (Virtual) July 22–23 | 12–5/6 PM ET  Each event can be attended independently—or together as part of a week-long journey through the Miyawaki Method. Explore the full Summit experience below—from the film documentary screening and bus tour to every keynote, panel, presentation and speaker.

Reserve Your Spot Explore the Program

Today, we're spotlighting the Virtual Summit on July 22–23. Meet the speakers, discover the sessions, and explore the ideas and conversations shaping this year's Summit.

Summit Sessions Day 1: Wednesday, July 22, 2026 12 pm - 5 pm ET | Zoom

Forest Creation Established Through Trial and Error: The Appeal of the Miyawaki Method, Open to All by Mio Urata Our opening keynote presentation delves into the origin and core of the Miyawaki method, focusing on the steps that must be followed and how these steps were established by Dr. Miyawaki and his team over the years. A number of forests will be shown to highlight these points, including the one in Yokohama National University which was planted 50 years ago in 1976, one of the oldest Miyawaki forests in Japan (and ultimately, the world).

From Root to Canopy: The Miyawaki Method and a Growing Field of Practice  This presentation summarizes Biodiversity for a Livable Climate's lessons learned from two years of organizing the Northeast Miniforest Summit, reflects on how the gathering has cultivated a growing community of practice, and sets the stage for the key themes and conversations that will shape this year's Summit. With: Alexandra Ionescu (Assoc. Director of Regenerative Projects, Bio4Climate)

Miniforest Stories in the Field: From Concept to Stewardship  Explore real-world miniforest projects from Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and beyond. Discover practical lessons in restoring degraded landscapes, navigating municipal processes, designing miniforests for pollinators, and bringing projects to life—from non-native species removal and funding to community engagement and long-term stewardship. With: Caseylee Bastien (BSC Group), Taylor Sapudar (Princeton Municipality), Marian Glenn, PhD (Trees Up Tompkins), and Anne Morin (Friends of Veasey Park).

Beyond the Planting: Relationships, Education & Stewardship Around Miniforests Learn how practitioners use art, environmental education, ecological monitoring, volunteer stewardship, maintenance practices, and community partnerships to help miniforests thrive long after planting day. With: Jen De Los Reyes (Cornell University), Jessica B. Smith, PhD (Miyawaki Forest Action Belmont), Donna Goggin Patel (City of Summit Environmental Commission), and Negin Ficzkowski (Beyond21 Academy).

Celebrating Global Mini-Forests Through Photodocumentation This presentation will explore documentary filmmaker Angelina Lee’s completed and ongoing micro-forest documentaries on multiple continents, and explore the profound potential of photographic images to advocate and inform. The speaker will also touch on the role of professional photography, and how her projects to systematically photograph Los Angeles micro-forest sites can affirm the value of these projects, offer visual information, and help legitimize them to the public as a versatile form of native plant restoration. With: Angelina Lee (Documentary Filmmaker, Punk Pebble Productions)

Day 2: Thursday, July 23, 2026 12 pm - 6 pm ET | Zoom

Mapping the Miniforest Movement in the U.S.: Introducing the Miniforest Database Initiative Learn about the U.S. Miniforest Database Initiative, a collaborative effort to create a national database and interactive StoryMap to support research, mapping, and collaboration. Led by Kean University, Bio4Climate, NYS DEC, and Groundwork USA With: Carlos Hernandez Ramos and Daniela Shebitz, PhD (Kean University), and Alexandra Ionescu (Biodiversity for a Livable Climate).

Understanding Living Soil in Urban Miniforests How can we better understand living soil? Explore practitioner-based approaches to observing and assessing urban soils, examine what current science supports about soil biology and urban tree establishment, and discover emerging research on early changes in soil health following Miyawaki miniforest establishment. With: Rubén Parrilla (NOFA/Mass), Jennifer Bhatnagar, PhD (Boston University), Daniela Shebitz, PhD (Kean University), John Evangelista (Groundwork Elizabeth), and Andres Ospina Parra (Rutgers University Newark).

Ways of Knowing a Miniforest: Thinking, Measuring & Learning Discover practical approaches to monitoring miniforests—from survivorship tracking and forest growth modeling to measuring ecosystem services, evaluating ecological outcomes, and applying landscape ecology to design and management. With: Damien Willette, PhD (Loyola Marymount University), Tes Siarnacki (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Bram Gunther (Plan it Wild), and Brad Oberle, PhD (New York Botanical Garden).

Learning Together, Beyond the Hype: Evidence & Open Questions in the Miyawaki Method Less about presenting answers and more about having an honest conversation about what we know, what we don't know, and what questions the Miyawaki community should be asking next. Join practitioners and researchers as they explore decades of field experience, emerging evidence, and the future of the Miyawaki Method. With: Mio Urata (Miyawaki Method Forest Maker), Damien Willette, PhD (Loyola Marymount University), Jennifer Bhatnagar, PhD (Boston University), Prassede Calabi, PhD (WIN Fast Forest), and Hannah Lewis (Mini-Forest Revolution).

What does it mean to love a (mini)forest?  In this talk, Ethan Tapper will draw from his work as a forester and his book How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World to discuss what the stewardship of forests of all shapes and sizes means for our changed and changing world. How do we respond to the harmful legacies of the past? How do we use our species' incredible power to heal rather than to harm? How do we reach toward a better future? With: Ethan Tapper (Forester & Author)

Only 7 seats remain for the Massachusetts Miniforest Bus Tour. We hope you'll join us for a day of learning, embodied knowledge, conversation, and visiting inspiring miniforests. Register for the Bus Tour Explore Full Schedule

About Biodiversity For a Livable Climate  For more than a decade, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (Bio4Climate) has worked to raise awareness of the vital role biodiversity and nature-based solutions play in regulating the Earth’s climate—through research, education, collaboration, and on-the-ground action. A pioneer of the Miyawaki Method in the United States, the organization helped bring this approach to New England, launching the region’s first miniforest in 2021 in collaboration with SUGi and the City of Cambridge. Since then, it has supported the planting of eight miniforests across Massachusetts, demonstrating how this approach can take root across diverse urban sites. In 2025, Bio4Climate convened the inaugural Northeast Miniforest Summit—mobilizing a regional network of practitioners to exchange knowledge, build relationships, and support the continued emergence of miniforests across the region. Our Promotional Partners We're grateful to our promotional partners whose outreach support helps amplify this summit's impact; we all hope to see you there!

With gratitude,

Alexandra Ionescu Associate Director of Regenerative Projects