Brandenburg's Citizens' Forest: Together for a greener urban climate!

Brandenburg's Citizens' Forest: Together for a greener urban climate!

Civic engagement is flourishing and brings a breath of fresh air into the city climate! In late autumn 2024, the first community forest opened in Brandenburg an der Havel, an exciting project aimed at bringing the community together and improving the city's climate. The first planting festival took place in November 2024 under the motto “Grow together, act together”, in which families, municipal daycare centers and local clubs in particular were actively involved in the design of the green spaces. The aim is not only to increase awareness of sustainable urban development, but also of local biodiversity, as stadt-brandenburg.de reports.

On November 30, 2024, the Citizens' Forest celebrated its second planting festival, which was attended by around 150 citizens, entrepreneurs and club representatives. Together, 27 native deciduous and coniferous trees were planted, including notable species such as summer lime, English oak and hornbeam. Mayor Michael Müller insisted on warmly welcoming the tree sponsors and emphasizing the importance of planting trees. Individual plaques with personal dedications turned the planted trees into unique souvenirs. The event was accompanied by music from the free drum group “Vicco Tam”, and after the work was done, the participants were able to fortify themselves at a rich buffet organized by students from the Bertolt-Brecht-Gymnasium, informs brandenburg-live.com.

A look into the future

The next planting festivals are already planned for the end of October, to which the tree sponsors will be invited. The city states that further new plantings will take place as part of these festivals and many sponsorships are already on the list for 2025. If you haven't had the opportunity yet, you can register for tree sponsorships by email (buergerwald@stadt-brandenburg.de), with further information on the registration process to follow.

This project fits perfectly into the spirit of nature-based urban development that is gaining traction in Europe. As urbact.eu points out, it shows that the connection between nature and the city combines both ecological and social goals and produces sustainable solutions. Many cities are already working successfully on integrating ecological approaches, and Brandenburg an der Havel is well on its way to positioning itself as a pioneer.

We invite the people of Brandenburg to join the citizen forest project and take responsibility for a prosperous future. Because a lot can be achieved together, whether it's planting trees or creating a livable urban climate!