Attleboro is taking steps to reduce flood and stormwater damage and increase drought resilience by creating a “Pocket Forest” with a great diversity of tree species that will collaborate to deepen soils that absorb and hold water, many times that of a stand of a single tree species. 

Volunteers are being scheduled for April 2026 to plant 500 native trees and shrubs of over forty different species in a circular plot near Capron Park Zoo and Attleboro High School. 

During a reception, 5:15 to 6:00 pm, Attleboro High School students will present posters and projects that demonstrate the benefits of planting a pocket forest.

Presentations begin at 6:00pm. 

Deanna Wells-Scott, AHS Marine Science Teacher, and Chris Hitchener, lead education coordinator for Mass Audubon’s Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary, will discuss Attleboro’s connections to the sea and the work of AHS Marine Science students.

Kirby Ruggieri, an AHS Environmental Science teacher, will discuss life in soils and how a diverse range of forty native woody plants, trees, and shrubs can be a much better carbon sponge, holding water, than a stand of just a few tree species. 

John Rogan, PhD, Geography Professor, Human-Environment Regional Observatory, Clark University, will present the work of Clark Students monitoring and measuring the climate resilience of two Miyawaki pocket forests in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Rob Moir, PhD, Executive Director of the Ocean River Institute, will discuss how plant diversity, when applied using methods developed by botanist Akira Miyawaki, improves stormwater management, reduces flooding, and increases drought resilience. 

The Industrial Revolution began in Attleboro in 1780 with the opening of a brass button factory. The Earth Rehydration Revolution, a grassroots environmental movement, focuses on restoring the “small water cycle” by keeping rainwater in the soil instead of letting it runoff into the ocean, which helps reduce the heat-trapping effects of water vapor in the atmosphere and cools the local climate. 

It starts here in Attleboro. Come learn about the plans for a Pocket Forest in our backyard, and discover how you can make a lasting difference with a spade and a sapling. 

Kelly Bergeron and AHS’s media team, “Blue Reporters,” will film the event.