Miyawaki ‘forest of thanks’
Barking and Dagenham Council put forward a fantastic plan to create a Miyawaki ‘Forest of Thanks’ in response to the incredible NHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with Natwest, TCV and Thames Chase.
Miyawaki gets its name from Japanese botanist, plant specialist and forest researcher Akira Miyawaki who has designed this method in order to facilitate rapid greening of the chosen area, with the biodiversity value of an ancient woodland in a much shorter time frame. Growth rates of the plants used are said to be 10 times their normal rate due to the environment they are planted into. Introducing a mix of species and sizes all native to the UK. The trees were mixed and planted randomly to give a natural growth pattern or effect.
The bulk of the works is in the treatment of the soil, which on this project Down to Earth Trees were not involved with unfortunately. Contractors dug down 80cm and ‘fluffed’ the soil, adding wool compost, ash, charcoal. In essence de-compacting the soil which had seen a century or more of vehicle use and footfall whilst adding everything the soil was missing in order to establish the forest in the fastest time possible.
Sugi were the lead consultants for this project, who came up with the design below. Four ‘pads or leaves’ which form one larger leaf in a prominent part of Parsloes Park in Dagenham.
Sugi’s proposed plans. An Oak shaped leaf
Down to Earth were drafted in following another contractor declining the works at the last minute. 29,000 mixed species trees and shrubs were delivered to us for mixing on the Wednesday before works commencing. This lead to a mammoth effort from our team (including office staff being drafted into the fold) to have the entire stock mixed and ready for Monday morning.
Planting was made easier by the Pottipukti system (pictured right) meaning the planters spent the majority of time upright minimising manual labour, the soil was also soft and malleable and the plugs were the perfect size which created the perfect conditions for the systems to be used. We had not used equipment like this previously but we will most certainly be using them again in the future.
Pottipukti system being used to plant Juniperus communis
Areas we cover
We cover most of the South East including Kent, Surrey, Sussex, London and Essex.
An unpleasant job, taming the leylandii trees which we had inherited and had been allowed to do their own thing for too long! We are grateful to our friends who recommended "Down to Earth" and we are very happy to say to anyone else who reads this, that from Andy who came to give us a very reasonable estimate, and Frankie's team who did skilful and beautiful job, we couldn't be happier. Very nice people too!
Excellent service, professional team, very large job bringing down dead sequoia; handled the job very well, cleared everything up, went above and beyond what we expected
Down To Earth were great. They did an excellent job from start to finish. Good customer service. Excellent team on site who did a fantastic job that went beyond my hopes and cleared up after themselves in an extremely thorough way.
An excellent job from start to finish, arrived on time and did a great job at clearing up afterwards. Worked the whole time they were here and couldn’t be happier with the results!
Exceptional service from start to finish. The job was carried out (non-stop working by the crew!) at the exact time agreed with all the remnants cleared up and taken away. They even ended up clearing my patio!
Another excellent job from Down to Earth trees. They have carried out all pruning and planting a new hedge in my garden for many years and I would never use anyone else. They are reliable, everything is cleared at the end of the job and all the staff from start to finish are polite and professional. I was happy with the quotation given. The 2 guys who carried out the latest work were very pleasant and listened to what I said before beginning the work. I would definitely recommend them.
I have been most impressed with DTE's professionalism and integrity. The scope of work I proposed I discussed was reduced as it wasnt all needed, and the work itself was carried out to a high standard
I had my trees done recently and the four gentlemen did a great job. Very professional and cleared all fallen debris at the end. Will definitely use the company again.
This is an excellent company to do business with. Their quote was thorough and very competitive. The team turned up on time and were very professional, polite and respectful of both our property and our garden. The work undertaken, (tree prunning and removal of a large shrub), was carried out to a high standard and everything was left very tidy. I can only recommend this company for their excellent service.
This company is outstanding in professionalism, care and efficiency, so we didn’t hesitate in using for this job. The weather was bad on the day of the booking and we thought they might postpone the work, but they didn’t. Our job involved varied work - trees, bushes and hedges. Everything is in much better shape now. Thanks, again to Down to Earth.
I have used this company on 3 occasions now. I have found all staff including administrative and the tree surgeons themselves to be consistently efficient, polite and informative. They have always arrived at the arranged time and date, completed the work effectively and well and left the garden clean and clear of all cuttings. Have recommended to neighbours and friends.
Fantastic from start to finish, from the quoting process, application to local council for approval, and the people on site doing the work. Had two trees taken out, one planted and general hedge height reduction work done. Superb team, cleaned up after themselves, very polite to me and neighbours. Will be using again. Thank you!
Had Ben along for a tree survey and risk assessment. Very professional and knowledgeable. Inspected every aspect of our spinney. Would highly recommend!
All work was carried out to my specification and care was taken to protect my walls and side gates. All refuse was removed from my property and my neighbours efficiency
Very professional. DTE did an excellent job reducing my large dead oak tree; and leaving everything in good order when they had finished the job.
We had one tree cut down, bushes cut back and a very high and difficult-to-reach ivy hedge trimmed neatly into a straight line. The team were brilliant; very punctual, tidy and polite and they did an excellent, professional job. Highly recommended.
One tree was felled, two pruned and large hedges cut back, all done neatly, quickly and exactly to my specifications. Everything was tidied away afterwards. I am more than happy with the result, and would definitely recommend this company.
They turned up on time and did a good job. They were polite, professional and left the place tidy. Would recommend.
Arrived on time, friendly professional team, did the job quickly, safely at height and went to considerable trouble to reduce any damage to plants or garden pots, ornaments etc. Left site cleared and tidy. Value for money. What more would you want ?
Thoroughly professional service from start to finish. Used on numerous occasions and never dissatisfied!
Very neat work. Professional and safe. We were happy with the quote. We had asked instead of grinding the root to put plugs in and were a little surprised that this was not included as the surveyor had suggested it during his visit
