Berlin neighbours adopt thirsty street trees as heatwaves intensify
Amanda Gläser-Bligh carries about 20 litres of water to Linda, an eight-year-old linden outside her door in Charlottenburg, once a week in the hotter months. The tree has stopped wilting. Linda is one of the street trees Berliners adopt through CityLAB Berlin's Gieß den Kiez project, which has run since 2020 and now has 12,000 registered volunteers. Its interactive map tracks more than 900,000 trees and works out each one's water needs from age, species and local rainfall. Volunteers can see when a tree was last watered, log their own visit and spot saplings in critical need.
Mature lindens cool Berlin's streets with their dense canopies, and their blooms feed local bees. Saplings need more frequent watering than older trees to survive, so volunteer rounds in heatwaves matter most for the youngest ones.
Source: ‘Like caring for a pet’: the app that lets you know if your neighbourhood tree is thirsty (theguardian.com). Spotted via Squirrel News.
Written by the HappyGood desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Every story links its source. Corrections: [email protected].
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