In what activists have said would be a first for DeKalb, a local group this week started early talks on how to inspire the community to start a microforest in town.

The concept, backed by DeCarbon DeKalb and Beyond, would drum up communal support for planting trees on a small plot and allowing them to grow rapidly in close proximity.

Discussion on this topic was among those highlighted at the group’s regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.

The new program is called DeCarbon Dialogue, meant to bring neighbors together for a free, bite-sized series on local climate solutions.

“We are hoping to establish a regular rhythm of real neighbors talking about real change, having a real impact here in DeKalb County,” said Kendra Holton, co-founder of DeCarbon DeKalb and Beyond. “And we want to do it in microbites.”

The program, moderated by Holton, was divided into two segments, with one on microforesting and another on winter sowing.

Microforesting is a method that grew from a botanist in Japan, Dr. Akira Miyawaki, who was studying weeds and then progressed into studying the growth of forests.

Andrew Wanek, co-founder of DeCarbon DeKalb and Beyond, said it’s gained a lot of attention around the world over the years, especially throughout Asia and Europe.

Wanek is an architect in making buildings greener and safer.

“There [are] about 3,000 and counting forests that have been installed,” Wanek said. “They’ve been installed in blighted lots.”

Microforesting calls for the planting of trees and species native to the region.

Among some of the keys to microforesting is attention to size and species.

“Starting off on a good footing calls for a diverse mix of size and species as well, within that native species realm, so they are not all tall trees,” Wanek said. “You’ll see the canopy trees, midlevel trees, shrub trees and a ground-cover layer. And this creates a healthy competition for life. So, they’ll grow vertically and more quickly with this competition.”

“We are hoping to establish a regular rhythm of real neighbors talking about real change, having a real impact here in DeKalb County.”

—  Kendra Holton

Another key to microforesting is the soil and its condition.

Typically, the soil needs to be amended to add some compost and beneficial microorganisms that are natural.

“This supercharges the root growth, so the roots can get down there [in the soil] and establish and create this web system,” Wanek said. “Part of a forest is the ... upground that we see, but the part that we don’t talk about as much, but scientists are really digging into – literally – is the part belowground.”

There are a number of benefits to microforesting.

“They’re ideal for urban situations because they can be so small – as small as a tennis court,” Wanek said. “But they’re also used to screen things – to provide sound barriers anywhere where rapid growth is required and needed.”

Wanek expressed excitement about establishing a microforest in DeKalb.

“If we had small ones, we could put them in places like schools, universities, parks,” Wanek said. “They could be a living laboratory, so we can share these experiences with students of all ages. Obviously, habitat is an issue in any developing area where we’re losing a lot of habitat. We have a crisis of our songbird population. So, this helps provide some very, very dense habitat for birds, mammals [and] insects.”

It doesn’t take a lot of land or consulting to get started, either.

“This is a way to come together as a community and do something collective,” Wanek said. “In fact, this is why I started following this movement.”

Wanek said starting a microforest requires some maintenance initially, but after a few years, it takes care of itself.

The idea behind establishing a microforest in DeKalb grew out of what Wanek said is his own “climate anxiety.”

He said he wanted to find a way to make change in the world. But Wanek said he didn’t necessarily want to go at it alone.

“I saw this as kind of a natural extension of that,” Wanek said. “I think we could get something like this going here in DeKalb.”

Microforests have already been started in Asia and Europe. They are starting to crop up in the Midwest, as well, with one in Algonquin, two in Joliet, and one in Iowa City, Iowa.

Wanek said he wants DeKalb to be one of the pioneers in this movement.

No site has been selected to begin planting a microforest.

“To get to this point would be a huge celebration, and that’s what it should be,” Wanek said. “Community effort can strengthen community bonds, create a sense of agency around our own local climate, our own local ecology ... and a common purpose.”

Wanek said the idea is already generating some local momentum.

“We did have a chance to present it to the city’s environmental commission,” he said. “They were pleased by it.”

The next DeCarbon Dialogue will take place Nov. 11, featuring a panel discussion on how to feel, think and talk about climate change.

Wanek said the group’s end goal is simple.

“We like to be inspired by our neighbors and try to inspire in return,” Wanek said. “And I think that’s what we’re achieving here.”