Kotturpuram to get Miyawaki urban forest

During the event, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash planted a sapling at a 23,000 sqft land parcel near Kotturpuram MRTS station. Miyawaki is a Japanese method of growing different kinds of trees in a small space, reducing the space between two trees. As a result, the saplings would grow faster and the maintenance period is lesser than the conventional method of plantation.

“The project has been started as a part of the urban forest initiative taken up by the civic body. This is the first attempt of the civic body to create an urban forest using the Miyawaki method. The land was earlier used to dump construction waste. We have removed 1,600 tonnes of debris from the plot to plant saplings,” an official said.

The civic body has dug the soil up to four feet to plant the trees. Wet waste, coir, cow dung and others are used as fertilisers. A mix of 40 species of canopy trees, creepers and sub-trees have been planted at the site, including fruit-bearing trees.

The official added that the trees would grow faster and reach up to 12 feet within 12 months. “Trees planted using the method require maintenance for only three years. After that, trees would grow themselves. After 7 to 9 years, trees planted in Kotturpuram would absorb 43.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide and would release 200 tonnes of oxygen,” he said.

The land parcel used for creating urban forest is part of the land reclaimed from an encroacher last November. Speaking to the reporters, Commissioner Prakash requested the corporate firms, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations to help the civic body in creating more urban forests in the city. Under Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) project, Chennai Corporation and Metro Water have taken measures to stop sewage from entering water bodies, he added.