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.
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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.