Adopt a tree: the app conquering Berlin
A green initiative in Berlin, 'Gieß den Kiez', allows residents to adopt urban trees, water them, and track their condition via an interactive map. Since 2020, over two million liters of water have been documented as given to trees by volunteers, and the model is expanding to other cities in Germany.
A green initiative in Berlin, 'Gieß den Kiez' (roughly translated as 'Water the Neighborhood'), was launched in 2020 by CityLAB Berlin following hot, dry summers that damaged the city's trees. The platform features an interactive map of over 900,000 street and park trees, along with information on species, age, and water needs. The initiative focuses on young trees that have not yet reached groundwater and depend on irrigation. Since its launch, over two million liters of water have been documented as given by volunteers, and more than 10,000 people have participated. The software was developed as open source, allowing other cities like Leipzig and Magdeburg to adopt the model. The article presents the project as a community success story, emphasizing the simplicity and effectiveness of the idea.