Name: An engineer's vision for tiny forests, everywhere
Uploaded: 2014-09-04T15:22:26Z
Duration: 4 min 12 s
Description: A forest planted by humans, then left to nature's own devices, typically takes at least 100 years to mature. But what if we could make the process happen ten times faster? In this short talk, eco-entrepreneur (and TED Fellow) Shubhendu Sharma explains how to create a mini-forest ecosystem anywhere.

Shubhendu Sharma: An engineer's vision for tiny forests, everywhere

An engineer's vision for tiny forests, everywhere

A forest planted by humans, then left to nature's own devices, typically takes at least 100 years to mature. But what if we could make the process happen ten times faster? In this short talk, eco-entrepreneur (and TED Fellow) Shubhendu Sharma explains how to create a mini-forest ecosystem anywhere.

By adapting car manufacturing techniques to forest-making, it is possible to create dense, biodiverse mini-forests in surprisingly small spaces. These engineered ecosystems grow ten times faster and are thirty times more dense than conventional plantations. In one backyard, groundwater lasted through summer and bird species doubled within two years. Harnessing local resources and open-source tools, anyone can transform barren land into thriving native forests.