WORCESTER, Mass. - Worcester's Department of Sustainability and Resilience will be planting two Miyawaki forests, as well as installing two new community spaces called 'CoolPockets' this year, in an effort to promote climate resilience in the city.

Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell said a Miyawaki Forest is essentially a tiny, dense and fast-growing forest which help with carbon dioxide absorption and managing stormwater run-off.

The first Miyawaki Forest will be about 6,400 square-feet and planted in a segment of the McGrath Parking Lot next to the Worcester Public Library. The second forest will be a little larger and planted in Plumley Village.

Odell said the planned CoolPockets, which are shaded spots to combat urban heat effects, will be at Columbus Park Elementary School and the Vernon Hill Playground.

The city said the new public spaces are designed to reduce the impact of extreme heat in neighborhoods that need the most relief.

"We want to reduce emissions and we want to prepare for future climate change all at the same time. And a tiny forest like this, a Miyawaki Forest is very effective at doing that," Odell said. "It captures carbon. It removes the heat island effect. It prepares us for future potential flooding events. It makes us much better suited to handle those, all those kinds of things fall right in line with both our sustainability and our resilience efforts in the city. I mean, it's really it's one of the few ones that hardly anyone is against, who's against putting in trees? Especially in a place where there wasn't anything before, any green or very little greenery around."

Funding for both projects comes from a state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness action grant to mitigate climate change impacts.

Odell said a team of volunteers will be planting and maintaining the new Miyawaki Forests. The plan is to have them planted by the end of June and the trees will grow in the coming years.