First CSR Miyawaki Project

The multi-layered forest that we put up as part of our first CSR project, spread over five cents of land near Sooryakanthi Auditorium on the Kanakakkunnu Palace premises, is the first Miyawaki model urban forest in Kerala.  It was officially inaugurated by the Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

Where is it?

The site is located in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city, on the PMG-Vellayambalam road. It is situated between Sooryakanthi Auditorium and the Agro-horticultural society.  

Advantages of the Miyawaki Method

The advantages of the Miyawaki method are: 10 times fast growth rate of plants and 30 times higher density.  Both these factors help in the absorption of a greater quantity of carbon dioxide and corresponding purification of air. The biodiversity within the forests will be 100 times higher and will help create a self-sustaining ecosystem.

Type of plants

Around 420 indigenous wild trees, medicinal trees and plant saplings have been planted at Kanakakkunnu. This wild forest has plant species like banyan trees, fig, ashoka, koovalam (wood apple), palakappayyaani malaveppu elanji (west Indian medlar), kanjiram (Nux vomica), karingali (cutch), nenmeni vaka (east Indian Walnut) poovarashu or sheelanthi (portia tree), punna (alexandrian laurel), chamatha or plashu (flame of the forest), kadukkai (harithaki), marotti (chaulmoogra), nelli (gooseberry), veppu (neem) and many more.

Challenges and Results
The major challenge that the Crowd Foresting team had to handle was the sheer dryness of the land.  It required considerable time and effort to till and water it, and prepare the seed bed after creating a foundational layer of tender coconut husk.  

But all the hard work paid off when the plants recorded phenomenal growth in height and bulk within a year of planting.  The health of the forest was evident in the early fruiting of many trees, the presence of a colony of giant honey bees, the roosting of owls, and the appearance of butterflies and a wide variety of insects.  

Today the Miyawaki forest at Kanakakunnu Palace grounds stands as a green oasis, emanating pure air and heady fragrance in the urban landscape of Thiruvananthapuram.