The founder using 'pocket forests' to transform cities and protect biodiversity

SUGI is a unique global organization that brings pocket forests -- ultra-dense, biodiverse forests leveraging the proven Japanese Miyawaki Method -- to cities all over the world. The group has built 200 pocket forests in 42 cities so far, with each providing a key form of "urban acupuncture" that can protect biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and even better reconnect people to nature. Founder and CEO Elise Van Middelem shares more about SUGi and how it got started - and the unique ways these projects are reviving places from England to Cameroon. 

This interview was recorded at the Urban Transformation Summit in Detroit, Michigan in October 2023. 

Photo by Joya Berrow