Engaging Residents in the Life of Trees
The city needs a mechanism to involve citizens in the life of its trees. The municipality cannot physically assign an arborist to every tree, and crowdsourcing is an excellent solution.
Status: The Active Citizen application is working well.
A sustainable urban environment depends on reliable data about its green assets. Municipal services cannot inspect every tree, shrub, and lawn on a daily basis. With a limited number of arborists, the city's dynamic ecosystem requires a broader network of observers. Storms damage branches, irrigation systems fail, and businesses illegally affix signs to trees. Residents are the city's most valuable resource for identifying these issues promptly. To leverage this resource, the city must provide accessible and effective communication channels.
Digital Tools for Citizen Action
Modern technology empowers every citizen to act as a guardian of our urban greenery. Yerevan's Active Citizen app is a powerful example. It allows residents to move beyond simple complaints and take direct action. A user can photograph an illegally hung cable or a damaging advertisement, submitting a request for its removal. They can report a broken sprinkler in a park or a tree in need of sanitary pruning. The system is effective: municipal services respond quickly, resolving most green-space-related issues within 24 hours. This rapid response is crucial for mitigating threats before they cause permanent harm.
Global Best Practices
Major cities worldwide have long utilized similar digital platforms. New York City's NYC311 system accepts reports on all urban issues, including the state of trees. Melbourne took it a step further by creating the interactive Urban Forest Visual map, where every tree has its own ID and email address. While initially intended for reporting problems, residents began writing letters to the trees, thanking them for their shade. This unexpectedly fostered a deeper emotional connection between citizens and their urban nature.
The MillionTreesNYC campaign in New York is a testament to the power of public involvement. The city set an ambitious goal to plant one million trees but recognized that municipal staff alone could not care for them. They created a map where anyone could "adopt" a tree, committing to watering it and weeding its tree pit. As a result, the survival rate of young trees was exceptionally high, thanks to the thousands of volunteers coordinating their efforts through a unified digital platform.
Community Building and Offline Engagement
While digital tools are effective, they cannot fully replace direct human interaction. Not all citizens use smartphones, so the city must also offer alternative methods of engagement. This role is filled by public councils on neighborhood greening, where residents meet with administrative officials and arborists. In these meetings, people discuss park renovation plans and select tree species for new plantings. Community workdays are also highly effective, allowing specialists to teach residents proper plant care on-site. These activities build a community of responsible citizens who understand the value of every tree and are ready to protect their city's green infrastructure.