Climate Change Resilience

Miyawaki Forests
A 2023 state-funded Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant assisted with the planting of the City's two pilot Miyawaki Forests - one adjacent to the Worcester Public Library in the McGrath Parking Lot and the second at the Plumley Village apartment complex. These forests were planted by hundreds of community volunteers in the Spring of 2024.

The Miyawaki Method is a unique approach to reforestation devised by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki that creates dense, biodiverse, native pocket forests. These fast-growing and resilient tiny forests offer numerous ecological and human health benefits including flooding reduction, cooling the "urban heat island," and boosting biodiversity.

Learn More

• Check out the Project StoryMap.
• Review Project Presentation Slides by Bio4Climate presented at the Green Worcester Summit on May 11, 2024.

Take Action

• Help us maintain these forests by signing up to volunteer at GreenWorcester@worcesterma.gov.
• Share your ideas for future resilience features (i.e., additional Miyawaki Forests, street trees, rain gardens) in the City through our Crowdsource Map.

CoolPockets
The City received funding from the state to design two CoolPockets in Spring 2024. A CoolPocket is a public space that will provide shady nooks for neighbors to gather, relax and find respite from the heat caused by Worcester's dense urban landscape. CoolPockets can increase the City's climate resilience by providing shade, incorporating stormwater management techniques and increasing the number of plants in the City which offer health and carbon sequestration benefits.

The two locations selected, Vernon Hill Park and Columbus Park School, were designed with the community's ideas and support. The City will be pursing funding opportunities to build the CoolPockets in the near future.

Learn More

• Check out the Project StoryMap.
• Our project consultant, BSC Group presented about CoolPockets at the Green Worcester Summit (May 11, 2024) - Presentation Slides

Take Action

• Share your ideas for future resilience features (i.e., additional Miyawaki Forests, street trees, rain gardens) in the City through our Crowdsource Map.

Sustainable Yard Designs
As part of a special City initiative, we chose four properties for a unique opportunity to have landscape design experts craft personalized, conceptual plans to create a more sustainable and resilient yard, all at no charge. These "Sustainable Yard Designs" feature elements such as rain gardens, re-routing roof gutters, reducing pavement, native plantings, pollinator gardens and more.

Learn More and Be Inspired with Examples

• Our project consultant, Weston and Sampson, presented the Sustainable Yard Designs at the Green Worcester Summit (May 11, 2024) - check out the Presentation Slides to learn about local examples of nature-based solutions to mitigate flooding and extreme heat.
• Explore other sustainable yard features such as Rain Gardens, Pollinator Gardens and Edible Plants shared at the Green Worcester Summit (May 11, 2024).