Thuvakkam 
                “Be the Change” 
                                                
                                                   
                                   
       Project Information                                                                                   
        
       Name of the Organization    : Thuvakkam NGO 
       Project Title               : Urban Forestry (Miyawaki Afforestation)  
       Project One-liner           : Implementation of mini forest at a specific area using Miyawaki technique  
       Project Timeframe           : Based on Land Area (15 – 30 days for 1000 sq. ft)  
       Prepared By                 : Thuvakkam NGO 
       Attached Documentation      : Annual Report (for reference about NGO) 
       Project Contacts            : Krishna Kumar S (+91-9444333624) / Abhirami A (+91-9444494625) 
        
       Overview 
       Urban forestry is a project which uses “Miyawaki” method of afforestation to create miniature forest in a specific 
       area. This is project done to implement an organic faster growth of a native forest in a locality.  In this project the 
       plants are planted in shorter radius using Miyawaki technique. This increases the growth rate by approximately 
       10%. Thuvakkam team uses this methodology to create miniature forest at different locations in and around the 
       city with the help of various other organisations, government agencies and supporters. The whole timeline of the 
       project and cost of the project depends on the land area where the project is to be implemented.  
        
       Introduction  
       Thuvakkam is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) started in the year 2014 by a bunch of like-minded 
       college going engineering students. With over 5 years now, Thuvakkam is a rapidly growing organisation 
       working towards the betterment of society. Thuvakkam works in the fields of Environment, Education and 
       Humanity. The main change initiatives of Thuvakkam include but are not limited to Pasumai Thuvakkam 
       (Greenery initiatives), Clean up After Dark, Creative Art Work, Karka Kasadara (Education), Modern Thandora, 
       Mannin maindhargal (Humanity) and Kural (Positive Journalism).  
       With over 500+ events completed, 50000+ lives impacted by engaging 18500+ volunteers and clocking 78000+ 
       volunteering hours, Thuvakkam is growing stronger day by day to create the change that it wishes to see in the 
       society.   
       Pasumai  Thuvakkam,  is  a  greener  initiative  started  out  by  Thuvakkam  to  create  a  sustainable  greener 
       environment.    Under  this  program  various  projects  ranging  from  Native  Tree  Plantation/Maintenance, 
       Kitchen/Herbal Gardening, Seedball Making and Urban Forestry are carried out.  
       Urban Forestry (Miyawaki), is a greenery initiative which uses “Miyawaki” technique – founded by Akira 
       Miyawaki which involves growing a variety of Indigenous species of trees to create a naturally resilient forest. 
       Thuvakkam has adopted this technique and made few changes based on regional environment.  The advantages 
       of this project are that;  
           ▪  Miniature forest can be created starting from a small land area of 1000 sq. ft onwards. 
           ▪  Native trees are chosen based on soil health according to the region. 
           ▪  Soil is enriched with Nutrients using Manure, Water Retainer, Perforator and so on.  
           ▪  Trees are planted at a distance of 2 to 3 feet from each other. 
           ▪  High nutrient and proper maintenance at initial stage will lead to high growth rate at short span of time. 
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         Thuvakkam has successfully completed over 14+ such projects in a span of 1 year around the southern parts of 
         India and has showcased in reality the positive change this project can create to the environment and society.  
          
         Objective  
         In the quest to meet our never-ending needs, we humans have cleared forests at a massive scale across the globe 
         to keep up with urban requirements. The environment has reached a critical state like never seen before.  In India 
         alone the forest and tree cover now stands at 80.73 million hectares—roughly 24.5% of its geographical area, 
         and still far from the eventual target of 33%, which India has committed to raise to, by 2030 by reports from 
         LiveMint.  
         Urban forestry hence thereby aims to ameliorate this issue. The objective of this initiative is to; 
              ▪   Increase Green Cover  
              ▪   Create an Oxygen factory  
              ▪   Improve Bio-diversity  
              ▪   Enrich the soil and its nutrients  
              ▪   Better the livelihood of the environment and society around the forest surrounding.  
         Methodology 
         Urban forestry involves planting of native trees closer to each other within a 2 to 3 ft distance after enriching the 
         soil with rich nutrients. The whole methodology of the project involves three phases. Each process has two main 
         steps for the implementation of the project.  
         Phase 1: Land scoping & readiness  
         At the initial phase, the soil from the selected land is tested and documented. Post the soil test, the suitable trees 
         sapling for plantation and soil enrichment nutrient are chosen. Once the Documentation is done, the land area is 
         marked and existing soil is excavated and stored. This excavated soil is used in Phase 2. Excavators (JCBs) are 
         used for digging the soil from the selected land area. A minimum of 3 ft depth is dug to enrich the soil at phase 2.  
          
                                                                                                                                        
               In picture: Left - JCB digging the soil and getting the land read for phase two, Right - Land post phase 1 
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         Phase 2: Land preparation                                                                                                          
         Once the land is ready based on the soil test, soil enrichment nutrients are added in the landed in needed 
         proportions.  This is mixed with existing soil or red soil in the excavated pit based on the type of sand/soil 
         available at the location. The materials which are usually used for soil enrichment are;  
              ▪   Perforator                 – Rice Husk / Wheat Husk   
              ▪   Water Retainer             – Coco Beat / Saw Dust / Bagasse  
              ▪   Fertilizer                 – Cow Dung, Manure and Vermicompost  
              ▪   Mulching Material          – Straw  
                                                                                                                                         
                                         In Pictures: Mixing of various components to enrich the soil  
         Post the soil is mixed with nutrients and enriched, the plantation is planned and the locations of each sapling is 
         fixed for plantation. Care is taken as to no same family tree saplings are planted together. The reason is when 
         different family species are planted next to each other there exists a competition between the saplings for sun 
         and water which helps in faster growth of the sapling.  
          
         Phase 3: Plantation & Mulching  
         Once the land is prepared, the land is ready for plantation. For a land area of approximately 1000 sq. ft, minimum 
         of 150 trees to Maximum of 250 can be planted. This plantation is distributed layer wise as shown below;  
              ▪   Shrub Layer                : 8 to12 % 
              ▪   Sub Tree Layer             : 25 to 30% 
              ▪   Tree Layer                 : 40 to 50% 
              ▪   Canopy Layer               : 15 to 20 % 
                      Assign layer: 
                      A multilayer forest can have many layers but at said location, Thuvakkam is going to make 
                      every tree listed in the database fit into either of 4 layers for easiness in plantation. 
                         Shrub layer         Also known as undergrowth, these are small trees which grow up to a 
                                             maximum of human height or a little taller. 
                       Sub Tree Layer        Trees which are taller than human but in comparison to normal trees 
                                             found in forest are still small 
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