Hayward Gallery and SUGi join forces creating a pocket forest at the Southbank Centre.

The Hayward Gallery and urban rewilding organisation SUGi are joining forces to install a pocket forest at the Southbank Centre.

Natura Nostra Forest Southbank, will be a 130 metre-squared patch of 390 trees aiming to reflect the art centre’s commitment to sustainability.

The mini forest will be planted in early May, situated on a terrace next to the Hayward Gallery entrance and adjacent to Waterloo Bridge.

It is estimated that this pocket forest will give an average carbon sequestration rate of 3 kilos per square metre per year, a total of 405 kilos per year over the first 20 years of growth.

Carbon sequestration is the capturing, removal and storage of carbon dioxide.

Created using the Miyawaki method, a technique that allows for quick planting and an almost maintenance-free upkeep, the pocket forest is designed to encourage wildlife and nature to thrive among the brutalist architecture of the site, restoring the sights and sounds of the natural world.

The forest’s success will be monitored with yearly biodiversity reports.

The Natura Nostra forest will be launched as part of the Hayward Gallery’s upcoming exhibition Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis.

This exhibition is a part of Planet Summer, a summer season of climate-focused programming at the Southbank Centre.

Ralph Rugoff, director of the Hayward Gallery, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with SUGi on this inspiring project, which represents an important step in the Southbank Centre’s ongoing plans to green the site, and which launches alongside a summer programme at the Hayward Gallery and across the Southbank Centre devoted to artists who are responding to the climate emergency, and promoting an ethic of engaged care.”

Picture: How Natura Nostra Forest could look like in 10 years’ time Picture: SUGi