CommuniTree - Tea under trees: promoting urban green spaces through community engagement

Urban areas are often dominated by concrete and asphalt, creating heat islands, while municipal budgets for green spaces remain limited. The CommuniTree project encourages collaboration between the municipality and local communities to increase urban green space. Neighbourhoods can plant and maintain trees in unused areas such as old orchards with public support, but often lack the link - a contact person at the city. In the small town of Freising, Germany, the project, which started in January 2025, is a joint effort between the University of Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, the non-profit organisation Rekultivistas and committed citizens. One of the main objectives is the participatory expansion of urban green spaces, combining scientific research with community action. With the help of a new citizen science app, students and citizens will help to map the city's tree population. City officials, citizens and students will come together in workshops to identify potential planting areas according to the 3:30:300 principle and plan planting campaigns where the requirements of this rule are not fulfilled. Where there are no suitable areas, trees will be planted in pots in the city centre to temporarily simulate a greener environment before being planted on the green campus of Freising University. To involve the population, the project will also organise ‘tea under trees’ events - low-threshold gatherings where the city trees are celebrated with artistic activities and communal tea drinking, e.g. lime blossom tea. Students will evaluate the effectiveness of the participation formats and also assess newly planted trees to compare species, planting methods and growth with trees planted by experts.