The Beirut River, the city’s largest open river, has historically been valuable for the communities and ecosystems surrounding it. Throughout time the river has been used as a water resource for drinking and irrigation, and had an important role as a space for recreational activities. In 1968 the river was transformed from a natural, healthy and performing ecosystem to a canalized infrastructure, causing it to lose its recreational, social, and ecological function. This marked the death of Beirut River.The Beirut RiverLESS Urban Afforestation workshop will be focusing on Beirut’s first native urban forest, a pilot project initiated by theOtherDada in partnership with Afforestt and SUGi, which aims to restore 200sqm of land adjacent to the river by by creating a natural dense forest using native vegetation species. The workshop will focus on the process of creating a dense native forest using the Japanese Miyawaki Method of afforestation, and the participants will be learning about the afforestation process from land excavation to selection of native species and plantation. This project hopes to create a replicable guideline for planting native forests around the watershed of Beirut River and the city at large.

Please note that the online theoretical part of the seminar will be from 4pm to 5pm while the practical hands-on workshop will be held on the Beirut River Urban Afforestation site from 6pm to 7:30pm.