PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Trees are a key component of green infrastructure in urban and rural areas. As such they help maintain quality of life, preserve biodiversity and are an important factor in adaptation to climate change. However, in many parts of Europe, trees have been poorly managed, particularly isolated trees and tree lines (tree avenues) both in towns and in the countryside, along watercourses, resulting in loss of the green infrastructure.
There is an urgent need for the definition of appropriate standards and good practices in tree care and their adoption by institutions and individuals responsible for managing green infrastructure.
OBJECTIVES
The Trees Green Infra LIFE project proposed a cohesive and multifaceted educational and informational campaign designed to conserve trees and support the development of green infrastructure. This focused on three specific objectives:
- Developing tree management standards and good practices and disseminating them to local authorities (both urban and rural), arborists, and landscape architects. This will improve enforcement of legal requirements with regard to the preservation of trees and the management of green infrastructure, as well as indicating where better regulation is possible;
- Creating a network of trained ‘tree advocates’ under the umbrella “Friends of the Trees”. These volunteer advocates will participate in planning meetings to ensure the importance of trees is recognised in local development decisions and to win public support for preserving trees. The project will also raise awareness of the importance of trees among private landowners in both urban and rural areas; and
- Raising the status of trees as part of green infrastructure in Europe, and disseminating best practice in tree management. This will involve transnational partnership working and networking across the EU, including lobbying the European institutions to recognise trees as a key part of the EU’s green infrastructure.
RESULTS
The Trees Green Infra LIFE project increased the appreciation of trees as green infrastructure in Poland and Germany, and also at EU level.
As a result of the project, there are now improved provisions on trees accompanying infrastructure in the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 (a flagship initiative of the European Green Deal). Rules for spending EU funds in Poland now require that existing trees are protected, and new trees are planted. Based on current knowledge, the project team designed tree management standards for Poland, which have been implemented by several municipalities and also by the arboriculture industry.
The project team introduced an IT tool for tree management (CheckTrees) in Poland while in Germany, nature conservation provisions were introduced into existing tree management standards. They compiled innovative best practices on maintaining trees along waterways, and initiated discussions with water management authorities. In both countries, public support for trees was strengthened via an extensive information campaign. The significance of tree avenues was demonstrated through long-distance bicycle tours along the German Avenue Route. Hundreds of activists were also trained to be better tree advocates, and to support public administrations maintaining and expanding resources for trees as green infrastructure.
Specifically, the project team:
- Involved 2,000 arborists, tree assessors, landscape architects and planners in their activities;
- Drew up standards and good practices on managing trees as a key component of green infrastructure in five priority areas;
- Enabled at least 50% of project participants to have better knowledge of the important role of trees in green infrastructure;
- Encouraged 27 institutions in Poland to implement IT tools for tree management;
- Reached at least 2 million members of the general public with the message that trees are an important part of green infrastructure;
- Held more than 400 media events, leading to 319 articles in the printed media;
- Improved by at least 50% the capacity of Polish and German “Friends of the Trees” to act as tree advocates;
- Made 224 key decision-makers in countries other than Germany and Poland aware of the importance of trees to green infrastructure and of best practices in managing trees;
- Ensured that 21 regulations or strategy documents from local to EU level recognise or reinforce the importance of trees to green infrastructure;
- Facilitated the launch of initiatives to improve the functioning of trees in green infrastructure in the Czech Republic and Russia.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
