URBAN FOREST

What URBAN FOREST does

URBAN FOREST (legal entity Urban Forest Europe SRL) is a Belgian-headquartered professional services firm founded in 2016 that designs and implements Miyawaki microforests and biodiversity gardens. It operates as European pioneer of the Miyawaki method, a Japanese forest-restoration technique that plants dense mixtures of native tree and shrub species selected on the basis of potential natural vegetation (PNV) and field observations, producing fast-growing, self-sustaining ecosystems of 100-3,000 m² that grow approximately one metre per year and become effectively zero-maintenance after three years. Since founding the company has delivered more than 150 projects across Belgium and France for a diversified client base spanning schools, companies, private individuals, property developers, public authorities, and citizen groups, and has cultivated institutional partnerships with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021), the Fondation pour les Générations Futures (2023), and the G20 Global Land Initiative (Yokohama Declaration, 2024).

The business model is project-based professional services: revenue is generated through custom-priced contracts covering consultation, design, soil preparation, planting, and an initial 2-3 year maintenance period, with pricing quoted per project rather than through standardized tiers. The go-to-market combines direct sales-led engagement with a community-led motion anchored by programs such as 'Kids in the Woods' and the '10,000 trees 10,000 children' initiative in Metz and Marly, supported by earned media coverage in outlets including Der Spiegel, National Geographic, The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC News, and France 2.

The team is described as including a biologist and a landscape gardener alongside other specialists, consistent with a small consultancy structure under founder-contact Nicolas de Brabandère. The company has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no patents, and no disclosed revenue, operating as an independent private SRL with a focused service catalog of three lines: Miyawaki Forests (core), Biodiversity Gardens, and the Kids in the Woods educational sponsorship program.

Name

URBAN FOREST

Legal name

Urban Forest Europe SRL

Website

https://urbanforest.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Urban Forest Europe SRL is a Belgian professional services firm founded in 2016 that designs and implements Miyawaki microforests and biodiversity gardens for schools, companies, individuals, property developers, public authorities, and citizen groups across Belgium and France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ecological Landscaping Services

NAICS

Landscaping Services (56173), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban & Community Reforestation / Street Tree Planting (AFAMACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tree Planting & Establishment Services (Manual/Mechanized) (AFAMACAE), Post-Planting Maintenance (Weeding, Mulching, Fertilization, Irrigation) (AFAMACAG), Native, Pollinator & Drought-Tolerant Garden Installations (HSAIAFAL)

Keywords

• Miyawaki microforest creation
• Biodiversity garden design
• Urban forest restoration
• Native species planting
• Ecological landscaping services

Headquarters

HQ city

Erezée

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Microforest Creation Services: Full-service offering including consultation, design, soil preparation, planting, and initial maintenance support for Miyawaki microforest creation. Projects range from small private gardens to large commercial and public installations.
2. Biodiversity Garden Services: Design and installation of biodiversity gardens, complementary to microforest projects.
3. Expert Consultation: Expert support and consultation for sustainable, successful forest projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Urban Forests designs, plants, and maintains Miyawaki microforests (dense plantations of native species, typically 100–3,000 m²) and complementary biodiversity gardens for schools, companies, property developers, public authorities, citizens' groups, and individual landowners in Belgium and France. The company provides end-to-end project delivery including scientific species selection, soil preparation, planting, and initial maintenance, after which the forests become self-sustaining.

Product overview

URBAN FOREST is a service company offering Miyawaki microforest creation and biodiversity garden services. The core offering consists of Miyawaki Forests (dense plantation of native species in urban areas to recreate natural forest ecosystems) and Biodiversity Gardens (eco-gardens). A supplementary program called Kids in the Woods enables schools to sponsor microforest plantings as educational initiatives. All services apply the Miyawaki method developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kids in the Woods: Program for sponsoring the planting of microforests in schools

Products and services

• Miyawaki Microforests Design and installation of dense Miyawaki microforests (100–3,000 m²) using native tree and shrub species selected through PNV-based scientific criteria, delivered to schools, companies, property developers, public authorities, citizens' groups, and individual landowners in Belgium and France.
• Biodiversity Gardens

Quantifiable outcome

• 150+ microforests planted since 2016
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• G20 Global Land InitiativeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Urban Forests contributed to the Yokohama Declaration on Miyawaki Forests (October 2024), an international declaration supporting the adoption of Miyawaki forest methodology globally.
• Fondation pour les Générations FuturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with the Belgian Foundation for Future Generations, supporting sustainable environmental initiatives in Belgium.
• UN Decade on Ecosystem RestorationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Urban Forests is an official supporter of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, aligning their microforest work with global environmental restoration goals.
• Earthwatch UKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReference to Earthwatch UK Tiny Forest monitoring reports (2022-2024) as part of scientific literature supporting the methodology.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• WeForest: International reforestation NGO funding large-scale forest restoration projects; serves some of the same corporate sustainability/ESG buyers as Urban Forest, though typically at much larger project scale and different geographies.
• Reforest'Action: Larger French reforestation platform supporting corporate-funded tree planting at scale; overlaps with Urban Forest on corporate sustainability buyers and tree-planting delivery but operates a broader portfolio than pure Miyawaki microforests.
• One Tree Planted: Global non-profit coordinating corporate-funded tree planting across many regions; comparable buyer base (corporate ESG programs) but a much broader, less locally specialized offering than Urban Forest's Miyawaki microforests.

Direct peers

• SUGi Project: Global builder of Miyawaki urban forests with a model that overlaps Urban Forest's core service offering; both create dense, native-species microforests for cities, schools, and corporates using the same Japanese methodology.
• Institut des Forêts Miyawaki: French non-profit dedicated to promoting and implementing Miyawaki forests in France; competes for similar public authority, school, and corporate contracts in France alongside Urban Forest.
• Earthwatch Europe (Tiny Forest): Operates the Tiny Forest program applying the Miyawaki method in Europe with scientific monitoring; directly comparable service, target audience (schools, communities, municipalities), and methodology to Urban Forest.

Others

• Ecosia: Search engine that funds tree planting worldwide from its ad revenue; adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but drives public awareness and demand for reforestation projects that Urban Forest benefits from.

Regional players

• Trees For All: Dutch foundation planting trees in the Netherlands and abroad with corporate sponsorship; comparable corporate-sustainability-driven model to Urban Forest but focused on Dutch and tropical reforestation rather than urban microforests.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-forests

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about URBAN FOREST