With a longstanding interest in issues of sustainability, Suri was a food systems student assistant with UB Sustainability when he pitched an idea to plan a mini forest—known as a Miyawaki Mini Forest—to the university. Led by Suri, the pilot project will be planted this fall with the help of community members, UB Facilities, and students and faculty from the Department of Environment and Sustainability in the College of Arts and Sciences.

UB’s mini forest—the first in Western New York—will be located near the Flint Entrance to the North Campus adjacent to the GroW Clean Energy Center, an ultra-efficient demonstration home student-built in 2018. The site was originally developed in 2012 with the installation of the 3,200-panel Solar Strand array and landscaping by Walter Hood; since then, unused greenspace has been taken over by invasive plant species. When exploring how to ‘tame and reclaim’ the area, the Miyawaki Method stood out to Suri as the best option for lasting impact.

“Tree planting done with intention is more beneficial for the surrounding area,” Suri says. “A multilayer forest method presents a much better opportunity for bird and insect species to move (back) in, and the resulting ecosystem will be more resilient.”

The site also includes a community garden with plans for a potential outdoor classroom and a native wildflower meadow.

“The mini forest, the raised beds, this recreation area and the GRoW Center building–which is completely self-sustaining–creates an entirely new type of community space on campus as part of what we envision is the first phase of a sustainability district,” Suri says.

Suri’s connection to nature—and commitment to creating more connections to outdoor spaces—was ignited by wading the creek in his childhood backyard in Westchester County, N.Y., and later, building an outdoor classroom as his Eagle Scout project. That project entailed removing dying trees adjacent to the Rye Nature Preserve and recycling the wood into pond-side benches. Those sensibilities are foundational to his thinking in his work at the university.

“Students like Omar are great examples of the brilliance we have here at the university, says Derek Nichols, MUP ’10, BA ’07, associate director of the Office of Sustainability. “He took his energy and passion for ecology and the environment and put it into a project that will ultimately beautify our campus and provide a legacy space for the entire community, all through experiential learning.”

Suri chose UB’s urban planning graduate program to unite his interests in ecology with advocacy work he did in housing assistance. He was drawn by the program’s interdisciplinary aspects of policy, systems theory, sociology, design, architecture, engineering and art.

In particular, he points to how mentorship from his advisor, Alissa Ujie Diamond, assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, has helped shape his entire view of the planning profession and the role planners have in society.

The mini forest is truly mini in area, but packed with potential. At merely 3,000 square feet (about the size of 22 parking spaces), the forest will contain nearly 1,400 saplings comprising 18 tree varieties, including maple, oak and birch, and several shrub varieties including witch hazel and sassafras. It is expected that within five years the established canopy will control weeds, and Suri’s hope is that with the mini forest’s proof of concept, this method could be applied to other areas of campus in support of UB’s pledge to become climate neutral by 2030.