By Glore Ruiz
If you take a walk or bike down the Christy Greenway Trail in South City, you will be surprised and delighted to find a tiny urban forest. Tucked alongside the Great Rivers Greenway trail, it’s only about thirty feet wide, but it creates a unique tree ecosystem not usually found in urban areas.
Tiny Forests are dense, native woodlands planted with a mix of native trees and shrubs to help mitigate the effects of climate change, support urban wildlife and reconnect people with nature. They’re planted using a technique developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki that allows forests to grow faster than normal. The Christy Greenway Tiny Forest consists of a dense mix of over 500 trees and shrubs native to Missouri that represent all four forest layers.
Aaron Doghone, from Trash for Trees, spearheaded the Christy Greenway Tiny Forest. The project came to life in 2022 through the collaboration of Forest ReLeaf, Davey Tree Resources, Great River Greenways and the City of St. Louis. The initial planting consisted of over 500 trees, included trees and shrubs native to Missouri.
Forest ReLeaf then began stewarding the trees. In the first year, the trees were so small that they were hard to spot; we had to warn our interns to watch their step as they watered and tended the trees. Now these trees have matured to a tender, yet notable height. Some are even taller than our interns.
This Tiny Forest will now be maintained by volunteer stewards from the local community, who will water, weed, and monitor tree health for at least the next two years.
The growth of the Christy Greenway Tiny Forest has brought joy to the long-time interns and sponsoring organizations. We hope bikers and pedestrians will also find joy in this growing landscape and miniature oasis.
“Imagine the kids in your congregation growing up learning all the native plants in your area and how to take care of them, and being able to experience the divine in nature,” says Christopher Grundy.
Since 1999, the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department has been caring for two gardens in downtown Ferguson.
With Forest ReLeaf’s help, Park Commissioner Peg Crockett is adding more trees to Hunter Park, giving the local community more opportunities for play and leisure.
I am Elijah Belz, the Field Operations Coordinator for Forest ReLeaf. I am a certified arborist and the primary person in the field for Forest ReLeaf, maintaining roughly 1000 trees planted in the St. Louis City, and maintaining our equipment our equipment used to maintain our trees! This job is a catch-all position that carries different responsibilities during the different seasons. Fall and spring are our planting, tree delivery, and inventory season; winter is our pruning, mulching, and planning season; summer is our watering season where we lead a crew of interns getting into the green industry.
My background is bicycle repair! I was in that industry for almost a decade, including running a bicycle repair shop, before taking a job with a tree planting organization in Atlanta. From there I moved to an edible landscape company. I became certified as an arborist while working at Forest ReLeaf this February! Trees rock, bikes are cool too.
De’Nonna Jones graduated from Knox College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, driven by a commitment to environmental justice and community-based conservation. Since then, she has gained hands-on experience working across a range of green spaces throughout the St. Louis region, focusing on the care, restoration, and accessibility of urban natural areas. She began her journey at Tower Grove Park, where she developed a deep appreciation for public green spaces as vital community resources, before moving into a stewardship role with the Missouri Botanical Garden in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway. She now serves as the Stewardship Crew Coordinator at Forest ReLeaf. De’Nonna is passionate about creating inclusive pathways into environmental work and empowering tree lovers and emerging conservationists to see themselves as stewards of their communities. Through her work, she strives to strengthen connections between people, trees, and places in urban environments.
After 17 years in the non-profit and public sector, Jess remains committed to mission-driven work that tackles the challenges facing our communities. Their career began with a year of service as an Americorps St. Louis Emergency Response team member, responding to natural disasters and performing conservation projects. That foundation of service led to roles supporting the arts, affordable housing, mental health, and grassroots housing advocacy in St. Louis. During this journey Jess has worked to center the value “nothing about us, without us.” They do their best to ensure that the voices of people who have been marginalized guide the strategy and execution of work that honors their lived experiences. When they aren’t working, Jess is out paddling, hiking, working in their garden, or building something.
