Win a tiny forest for your community
Words: 5
Illustrations: Various
5 has teamed up with nature organisation IVN to help one lucky winner plant a forest that will enrich a community and ecosystem for decades to come. Enter the competition here.
Because we believe that being closer to nature is better for people and planet, 5 Media is offering you the chance to win a tiny forest for your community.
What is a tiny forest?
Tiny forests are highly compact, fast-growing forests that bring nature into urban environments. As well as helping us reconnect with the natural world, they are also a haven for insects and birds.
Each forest counts about 600 trees and covers a space that would normally fit a tennis court – roughly 200 square metres. While a regular forest takes 100 years to reach maturity, tiny forests feature fast-growing species and are lush and green after just 10 years. Find out more about tiny forests in our article.
Timelapse video of the growth of a tiny forest, courtesy of IVN
The prize
The winner of the tiny forest will receive funding to cover the costs of the trees, soil preparation, fencing and planting as well as training and onsite guidance from nature education organisation IVN, which is leading the tiny forest movement in Europe.
Who can apply?
Anyone (18+) living in a city in Europe, who wants to co-create and care for a local tiny forest together with the local community, city council, nearby school or nature education organisation.
What are we looking for in our applicants?
- Willingness to spend 1 day a week for a year to create this forest.
- Intrinsically motivated to follow the IVN (online) training programme.
- Permission from your city council or other local organisation with approx 200m2 available land, such as schools or nature organisations, to plant a tiny forest in your city that can grow undisturbed for at least 10 years.
- The tiny forest will be accessible to the community and can be used for educational purposes.
- You have the enthusiasm to engage the local community in the planting and upkeep of the forest – ideally it will be adopted by a school and/or the neighbourhood.
- You are willing to be interviewed about your experiences for 5 Media.
- Employees of 5 Media and IVN, and their relatives, are excluded from entering.
Enter the competition
To have a chance at winning a tiny forest in your town, answer the question:
What would a tiny forest mean to you and your community?
To enter, complete this form.
The competition is open until September 30, 2021.
Good luck!
IVN is a nature education organisation based in the Netherlands. As a European partner of Afforestt, which developed the tiny forest methodology, IVN is the central knowledge and support hub for those wanting to create tiny forests as a way to introduce young and old to experience the benefits of nature.
