Discover wildlife at Tiny Forests across the UK during special Biodiversity Week

19th May 2022

Everyone is invited to discover the wildlife at their local Tiny Forest as part of a special week run by charity Earthwatch Europe to record how the network of Tiny Forests is benefiting the local environment.

There are 149 Tiny Forests across England and Scotland, with each forest made up of 600 densely planted native trees and shrubs covering a space the size of a tennis court. Located in urban settings, Tiny Forests aim to provide an oasis for plants, insects, birds and small mammals, helping to connect people with nature in their local area. 

To help track the benefits of the forests, and record the types of wildlife using them, Earthwatch is encouraging everyone to take part in its Biodiversity Week between Saturday 21 May and Sunday 29 May. The term ‘biodiversity’ refers to the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat. It comprises of every living thing, including plants, bacteria, and animals. This week ties in with the International Day for Biological Diversity taking place on 22 May.

Anyone interested can find the wildlife surveys to complete on Earthwatch Europe’s Tiny Forest website and go along to their nearest forest to record the wildlife and nature they see on the site. An online map is available to help people locate their local Tiny Forest. Tiny Forest Biodiversity surveys focus on butterflies, pollinators and ground-dwelling invertebrates. Each survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and visitors can carry out as many surveys as they like. Everyone is welcome to continue to take part in the surveys after Biodiversity Week and keep monitoring their local Tiny Forests in the future. 

Surveys can be easily completed on-site using a mobile phone, or downloaded and completed in paper form. All the results will be analysed by Earthwatch’s research team and published online after Biodiversity Week.

Earthwatch are also hosting Science Day events at some of the Tiny Forests during Biodiversity Week. At these events local residents can learn more about Tiny Forests from the team and participate in citizen science.

These events are taking place at:

• Citrine Park, Wirral – 23 May 15.00-16.00
• Monkton Park, Chippenham – 24 May 14.30-16.30
• The Delph, Wirral – 25 May 15.00-16.00
• East Pilton Park, Edinburgh – 30 May 12.30-15.30
• Mount Vernon, Edinburgh – 31 May 15.00-16.00

Daniel Hayhow, Tiny Forest Research Lead, said:

“We’re excited to be running our first ever Tiny Forest Biodiversity Week, encouraging everyone to get involved in citizen science at their nearest Tiny Forest. The data that you gather will be really important for helping us to understand how Tiny Forests support wildlife as well as the other environmental benefits they provide to urban communities. We really hope you enjoy taking some time out to be still and notice the creatures around you in the Tiny Forest and keep coming back to take part in surveys in the future!”

To find the Tiny Forest map and surveys for Biodiversity Week and more details about the project, go here.

Check out and sign up for any of our Tiny Forest events here.