The City of Athens has launched Adopt-A-Tree, a pilot initiative to preserve the greenery on the streets of the city.
The Adopt-A-Tree project lets residents search for a street tree near an address (their home, business, school, etc.) through the Novoville app, and commit to keeping it healthy by watering it.
Why should I adopt a tree?
The primary goal of the Adopt-A-Tree project is to help young trees survive and get established. The City of Athens plants around 600 new trees annually. Newly planted trees need watering 3 times per week during the summer to survive. However, the city loses 10-40% of these trees due to high temperatures. It is, therefore, essential that we water them every 2 days using 1 bucket of water (7-10lt) to increase the likelihood of their survival.
Trees have many far-reaching benefits in urban environments. They help remove airborne pollutants, absorb CO2 — the leading driver of climate change — and release large amounts of oxygen. They help cool cities by providing shade; they reduce flooding events and noise pollution; they provide an essential natural habitat for birds; and they bring aesthetic value to our neighbourhoods.
How do I go about adopting a street tree?
To adopt a tree, citizens can download the free Novoville mobile app for Android and iOS devices, or visit the Novoville WebApp on the City’s website by clicking here. They can then select ‘My City’ from the main menu, turn on the filter to view adoptable trees on the map, and click on the tree they want to adopt. They then get reminders every time they need to water their tree. Each citizen can adopt up to three trees, and the number of people who can adopt a particular tree is up to three as well.
For detailed instructions, please click here.
By adopting a tree, we are helping to maintain the greenery on the streets of Athens, and making a valuable contribution to our neighbourhood.