A Forest of Hope

Listen, and you’ll hear the gentle whisper of aspen leaves. Reach out, and you’ll feel the smooth ripeness of wild rosehips. Look, and you’ll spot the bright flash of goldenrod, home to a busy team of ladybugs. A rustling in the underbrush announces a vole, who scurries purposefully to his next meal. A burst of bird song and a flutter of wings reveals a flock of sparrows, bouncing from willow to willow. Close your eyes, and you can almost feel the many creatures in this place drinking in the sun.

The mini forest on Sept. 30, 2025.

This is the mini forest Pokitso’wa’ssko, “Tiny Beautiful Place” in Blackfoot. It was planted in 2023 at the Calgary Centre for Spiritual Living, as part of the Calgary Climate Hub’s Mini-Forests for Calgary initiative, in collaboration with Green Communities Canada, Definity Insurance Foundation and All One Fund Calgary CSL. As members of the Hub’s planting team (and the fencing team who returned a year later, to better protect the plantings from enthusiastic rabbits!), we decided to revisit the mini forest in autumn 2025.

The vibrancy of Pokitso’wa’ssko astounded us. In just two years, the short and stubby plants we placed carefully in the soil (some only inches tall) have developed into a flourishing woodland. Some of the canopy trees are already taller than us! Not only are the plants thriving, but they have attracted a lively community of insects, birds, and small mammals. What was once a bare patch of ground has become a true ecosystem.

The forest’s growth has been supported and sustained by the diligent care of the human community at CCSL, evident in the irrigation system, hand weeding, and mulching that have helped the forest to sink its roots into the landscape.

Our world can feel like a fraught place in these times, with climate action poised on a knife edge. We see so many defeats and retreats, while time is ticking away. Visiting the mini forest this year reminded us that no matter what happens in world affairs, the love, care, and cooperation of human and non-human beings can bring life to what seemed barren. Together, we can create “tiny beautiful places”, forests of hope for each other and for future generations.

By Lindsay Driediger-Murphy