400 people plant new trees in the Frankfurt city forest near Zepplinheim. For a healthy urban forest and to combat the effects of climate change.

Lesson 1 of the urban forest tree planting campaign: it's more strenuous than expected. That is not just the opinion of a Frankfurt woman over 50 with a pink cap. She steps across the muddy forest floor in her flowery rubber boots, beaming with joy but also a little exhausted, green shovel in hand. "The ground is harder than it looks. Digging the holes is not as easy as in the allotment. But it was fun and I planted three chestnut trees in 45 minutes."

Emanuela (11) from Kelsterbach, who is currently spreading the forest soil over the freshly planted seedlings with her father and six-year-old sister, says: "It's hard physical work, but it's important for our future that we have trees because of all the carbon dioxide emitted." The aircraft noise above them - the airport is not far away - cannot be ignored. Neither can climate change: it is 11 degrees in mid-February. This Saturday, 400 people have signed up for the planting action in the Goldstein forest area, not far from Zeppelinheim.

But you can also show up spontaneously. It is the third event of its kind. In 2019, Rosemarie Heilig (Groenen), head of the environment department, started the first planting action together with the parks department and StadtForst. As Heilig, who stands in a fairly light piece of forest, stresses, the "climate catastrophe" is happening at lightning speed and is hard to stop, but we should at least try. "More than 98 per cent of the trees in the urban forest are diseased or already dead. We don't want to leave the forest to its fate." A healthy forest is incredibly important to better cope with the effects of climate change, such as periods of heat. This is also important for future generations.

People plant the trees behind grey fencing. The area is fenced to protect it from forest animals and is "slightly smaller than a football field". 3,300 seedlings will be planted. The city funds campaigns like this in a "special programme for the future of the urban forest". According to Heilig, it totals 4.5 million euros. At the collection station, the volunteer tree planters not only get seedlings and shovels, but also learn that five different tree species are planted: bird cherry, sessile oak, downy oak. This also answers the question of a woman shouting to her friend, "What are we actually planting here?" But no, you cannot choose freely. There is a system so that there is no competition between tree species later on. The block of chestnuts is planted first, followed by the downy oaks further on.

Deliberately colourful mixture

A deliberately colourful mixture, all heat- and drought-resistant and sourced from a Frankfurt nursery. "I hope that what we plant here today will still be there in 200 years," says district forester Axel Saamer. However, there is no guarantee of growth. Not only because we do not know which species will survive the climate crisis in the future (Frankfurt is currently testing the water), but even starting is difficult.

Peter Rodenfels, production manager of the city forest, explains to a family: "The seedlings come from the tree nursery's wellness oasis and suddenly find themselves in the harsh reality of the city forest, which means stress for them." To ease the so-called "planting shock", the roots are covered with a biodegradable root gel when the volunteers collect them for planting. This releases nutrients to the seedling and "also stores extra water reserves for the first year", reducing the risk of mortality. However, whether they will grow into healthy trees cannot be determined for another seven to 10 years, Heilig says.

Emanuela's father Perikles (47), while planting a chestnut tree two steps apart (there should be enough space between the trees), says he has said goodbye to the idea of world religions: "For me, Mother Earth is our religion."

Source and photo: Frankfurter Rundschau