Urban tree planting to make Berlin even greener

DW (English)

Berlin is one of the greenest cities in Europe. Among the initiatives aimed at keeping it that way is an "urban climate tree" planting campaign.

Transcript

00:00This field maple tree is the final touch to Ute Böhnhoff's garden,

00:06which is full of little insect oases and retreats for birds,

00:10here on the western edge of Berlin.

00:14The field maple was a present from the local authorities,

00:17as part of its Urban Climate Trees campaign.

00:25We felt the garden could do with another tree,

00:28to make it even greener and like the idea of an urban climate tree.

00:32It would have a new home here,

00:34so we decided to apply and would love to have one of those trees in our garden.

00:43The Urban Climate Trees campaign is now entering its third year.

00:49Over a three-day period, its driver distributes over 70 specimens,

00:53a hard job and not just at the wheel.

00:56Applications were open to anyone who owns property here

01:00and was committed to looking after the tree,

01:02from private individuals to schools, sports clubs and building management companies.

01:07The campaign was the brainchild of horticultural engineer Beate Riesmann.

01:12She was determined to get environmentally active,

01:15with temperatures in Berlin rising by one full degree Celsius over the last 150 years.

01:21Planting new trees is vital.

01:24Their biomass means that trees also improve our quality of life, especially in cities.

01:31They provide shade and have a cooling effect

01:34and provide a habitat for birds and insects.

01:37So it's really important for us to have these places,

01:40to prevent built-up areas from heating up.

01:43Berlin is one of the greenest capitals in the world.

01:47Cities are home to some 10 billion trees worldwide,

01:50a remarkable number given the relatively small amount of land that urban space takes up.

01:56From damage due to drought stress and vandalism

01:59to the construction of roads and apartment blocks,

02:02trees are regularly removed for many reasons.

02:06Our next stop is on the northern outskirts of Berlin.

02:10Our next stop is on the northern outskirts of Berlin,

02:14where volunteers from a tree-planting association regularly attempt the impossible.

02:19For 10 years now, they've been planting trees in former leach fields.

02:24Mike Kratz is the forest warden here.

02:27He's a frequent visitor and happy to lend his expertise with issues like soil degradation.

02:32In the late 19th century, the area became a dumping ground

02:36for sewage generated across the north of Berlin and remained so for over 100 years.

02:43There's still a certain amount of contamination from cadmium, lead, copper and zinc.

02:48If you walk through these old leach fields,

02:51you'll see completely bare areas with not even any grass growing.

02:55That's due to excessive sewage,

02:57although the most serious problem is water retention capacity.

03:02So the trees and shrubs being planted here today need to be hardy.

03:07Goat willows, European white elms and checker trees manage with relatively little water.

03:14Some of them are treated to a quick bath beforehand in a nutrient-rich algae solution.

03:22But that in itself would not be enough to ensure a healthy start for the saplings.

03:32We monitor our trees for three years.

03:34Sometimes the grass grows really high in the summer, savannah style,

03:38putting the saplings in the shade and also competing for the same water.

03:43So we cut that down.

03:45The forester helps by bringing in huge tanks of water.

03:48We then set out into the woods in teams,

03:51which can look pretty funny with us carrying watering cans in the forest.

03:55But it's really worth the effort.

03:57Wherever you go in the world, cities boast an especially wide variety of trees.

04:01Berlin has almost 41 square meters of woodland per resident.

04:05In the Indian capital Delhi, the figure is under nine.

04:08Berliners want their home to stay green,

04:11which is why the Tree Planting Association is never short of volunteers.

04:15I was really into it because back at home, back in India, we used to do it.

04:19We had a little community and we used to do it, tree planting,

04:23every Independence Day, so every year.

04:26So I was really into it because of that.

04:29And when I came to Berlin one and a half years ago,

04:32I was trying to find something like this.

04:34It's such a nice thing to do for the nature as well.

04:37And once you do it, you also feel like something you have accomplished.

04:40So it's good.

04:42The most sustainable type of tree maintenance

04:45is when people have a relationship to the tree.

04:48Back on the west side of the city,

04:50the Fuchs family are also getting their urban climate tree today.

04:54Shadbush trees are a good source of shade and food for insects.

04:58The family know exactly what's in store for them.

05:05It'll be a lot of work, especially in the summer.

05:08They need water every day then,

05:10but as we have to water everything else, that's fine.

05:13The urban climate trees aren't cheap,

05:16costing around 300 euros.

05:19So the local authorities took a closer look at the data

05:22and also found that there are still more trees

05:25being felled in Spandau every year than planted.

05:28We're a green neighborhood and want to stay that way.

05:31So we see the financial input for new trees as reasonable.

05:34And doing something positive is always a good thing.

05:40The field maple tree takes pride of place in Utterbönn,

05:43It survived its tough first three years,

05:46so should now be out of the woods

05:49and can hopefully look forward to another 200 summers.

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