"Save our trees" - a campaign for Berlin by Grüne Liga Berlin e.V. and Spreequell starts the second round on 19.04.2022

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On 19 April, the Grüne Liga Berlin e.V. and Spreequell will once again launch the "Save our trees" campaign. After the successful start last year, Berlin's city trees are to be supported by citizens watering them in 2022. Last year, numerous individuals, families, office communities and watering groups took part in the campaign with great commitment. The Green League Berlin and Spreequell will therefore again be handing out free watering packages consisting of watering bags and watering cans to citizens in 2022.

 

Anyone observing the weather in 2022 will notice that it is very dry again this year. March was the driest since weather records began. Heat waves are on the rise, to the detriment of the city's trees. The city of Berlin and the district offices responsible for irrigation are calling on the public to help. "Often, Berliners are not lacking the motivation to help the trees, but rather the practical implementation," says Lena Assmann, urban greening expert of the Grüne Liga Berlin e.V. Therefore, the join-in campaign of Grüne Liga Berlin e.V. and Spreequell supports Berliners in helping long-suffering urban trees.

 

Young to medium-aged urban trees between four and 40 years old have a particularly high water demand. Their roots do not yet reach the groundwater, but they are usually only regularly supplied with water for the first three years after planting. If there is no rainfall, as has been the case so often in recent years, there is a risk of drought damage or even the loss of the tree. Every year, Berlin loses about 1100 city trees - the trend is rising due to increasing droughts and other extreme weather events such as storms, and significantly fewer are being replanted. Yet Berlin's trees not only suffer from the changing climate themselves, but are also of great importance for the city's climate.

 

If you want to help one or more trees, you can get the right watering package depending on the size of the tree. The watering bag helps to ensure that the water reaches where it is needed. It is filled with 60 litres of water, which then slowly seeps into the soil. This makes watering a little easier. "Because it's not that easy. The well-intentioned daily watering can for the tree on your doorstep is often just the proverbial drop in the ocean and it is important that the water seeps into deeper layers of soil," explains Lena Assmann. In order to determine the neediness of a tree and to find out whether the selected tree is already being watered, the campaign "Save our trees" works together with the open-source platform GiessdenKiez.de from CityLab Berlin, in which almost all Berlin street trees are listed. One way to get water is to use the 2,000 public water pumps that are also listed on GiessdenKiez. Alternatively, collected rainwater or drinking water from the tap can be used.

 

Anyone who wants to take part in the campaign can register on the campaign website www.rettetunserebaeume.de from 19 April. There, it is also explained how to get a watering package and how city trees are watered sensibly.