A Visit To Stepping Stone Forests

Yesterday, our CEO Bernard Pender & Head of Community, Alan O’Donovan took a trip to Tallaght to meet John Kiberd & Co from Stepping Stone Forests.

Stepping Stone Forests is a community-based project which aims to small, urban, densely planted woodland using native species of trees and shrubs (otherwise known as a “Stepping Stone Forest’). Due to the dense nature of the planting, the trees and shrubs grow very rapidly. This method is inspired by the work of world-renowned botanist Prof. Akira Miyawaki.

In Miyawaki’s method of tree planting, The Miyawaki Method, trees grow about 10 times faster. Stepping Stone has studied this method and experimented over and over again to develop its own planting method. This involves the ground being covered in a layer of newspaper and cardboard and then heavily mulched 6 months before planting, to help suppress weeds, retain moisture, and to maintain a more even ground temperature. After the 6 month period has passed, the Stepping Stone & its incredible volunteers come back to the plant. They are planted very densely with between one to five plants per each square meter.

The success of this method was glaringly obvious yesterday as John, along with Caragh & Michael from Stepping Stone showed us around their various Tallaght sites. The growth in such a short amount of time is incredible and it’s clear that these forests will become beautiful, natural beauty spots in the coming years.

The first Stepping Stone Forest we were given a tour of was Old Bawn Community School, which was planted in February of this year. On this site, there are 500 trees and 20+ species of trees in what used to be a small unused patch of grass. This forest is only 7 months old but already the trees are shooting up to incredible highs. It was planted with students of the school and will be a stunning addition to the school community as it continues to grow and flourish.

Although, Stepping Stone Forests & its affiliated groups (Dodder Action, Litter Mugs) are voluntary organisations. They have received incredible support from corporate sponsors who have sponsored their mission to create Stepping Stone Forests in parks & schools across the country. Some companies have also sent willing volunteers to planting days to provide a few extra green fingers. These supporters include Amazon Web Services, Henkel, Microsoft & many others.

Our next stop on the Stepping Stone tour was Sean Walsh Park, where we found a Mini-Woodland, developed in partnership with South Dublin County Council. This mini-woodland contains three stepping stone forests, beginning in December 2020, when soil preparation was completed with the help of local politicians of the time Sean Crowe TD, Francis Noel Duffy TD, Cllr Teresa Costello, and Cllr Alan Edge. Much like the previous forest, the trees within these 3 Stepping Stone forests were doing immaculately. There are 30+ species across the 3 forests, including Oaks, Scots Pine, Holly, etc.

After Sean Walsh Park, we went on to visit three local primary schools which have acted as three more Stepping Stone Forest sites. First we visited, Sacred Heart Junior National School, where preparation began in September 2021 and planting happened in early 2022. From there, we went on to Sacred Heart Senior National School, which is situated directly beside the junior school.

Finally, we went to St Dominics National School, which was prepared in November 2021 & then was planted on in Spring of 2022. This was yet another incredible project which was prepared and planted with the help of the young students. This site had an added bonus of a Willow Tree Arch Entrance, which really adds to the site. The trees themselves are like, the rest of the forests, flourishing and beginning to come together well.

There are already 13 Stepping Stone Forest in the Tallaght area, with plenty coming along and more in the pipeline. They can be planted almost anywhere. It’s recommended that they are planted on existing areas of lawn in public parks, open spaces, school & college grounds, business campuses, etc. It was incredible to see what can be achieved by an enthusiastic group of volunteers, and we are so excited to see what John & the Stepping Stone team achieve in the next 12 months and beyond. If you want to find out more about Stepping Stone, visit their website below: