Over the past few years, BSC has collaborated with the Town of Ayer, the Devens Enterprise Commission, Regenerative Design Group, and Linnean Solutions on the Ayer-Devens pocket forests projects, funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.
Pocket forests are small, densely planted urban forests designed to restore ecosystems, improve air quality, and reduce urban heat islands. This pilot initiative, located in an environmental justice neighborhood affected by freight and truck traffic in Devens, will bring climate-resilient benefits such as enhanced air quality and reduced heat island effects.
BSC was honored to receive the inaugural Massachusetts Ecosystem Climate Adaptation Network (MassECAN) grant to break down the pocket forest process and share it with communities aspiring to drive meaningful climate-resilient change. To get started, we invite you to watch the video below, which introduces the concept of pocket forests and illustrates how they can transform urban spaces into thriving ecosystems.
Additionally, we developed a comprehensive “How to Pocket Forest” guide, which can be accessed here: https://climateresilient.wixsite.com/ayerdevens.
We encourage you to download the guide and take the first steps toward creating a pocket forest in your community.