Wandering tree avenues

Pilot project of the Climate Working Group

In the summer of 2023, as part of the action alliance Thuringian city centers with a future the project Wandering Tree Avenue It started in Gotha. Since then, five Thuringian cities – Pößneck, Nordhausen, Rudolstadt, Sömmerda and Leinefelde-Worbis – have followed the idea and set up mobile tree installations in central downtown areas.

The mobile tree avenue is a temporary form of urban greening. The young trees can be flexibly positioned in different streets, depending on changing needs. This green project contributes to improving the quality of life in urban and partially paved areas and supports climate protection.

The young trees can therefore remain in the city centers until autumn, before moving to a winter quarters and becoming visible again in the cityscape the following year.

The project is funded by the Thuringian Ministry for Digital Affairs and Infrastructure (TMDI). An evaluation of the project is scheduled for completion in autumn 2025.

Gotha

Photos: © D. Santana (TMDI)

The pilot project among pilot projects: Gotha 2023
On August 21, 2023, the first pilot project of the action alliance – the "Wandering Tree Avenue" – was officially opened in Gotha. Fifteen sycamore maple trees now adorn Erfurter Straße in Gotha's city center. The trees are scheduled to remain in the pedestrian zone until October, after which they will be moved to their winter quarters and replanted next year. The city of Gotha received €10,000 in funding for the project from the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL).
The opening of the mobile tree avenue took place in the presence of State Secretary Barbara Schönig, Head of Department Martin Gude (Thuringian Ministry for Infrastructure and Agriculture) as well as Mayor Knut Kreuch, Mayor Ulf Zillmann, Deputy Mayor Peter Leisner, Anja Meyfarth and Elisabeth Kupfer (City of Gotha).
The mobile tree avenue is a type of urban greening project using trees placed along various streets in a city. Its aim is to enhance the quality of life in urban, paved areas. At the same time, it contributes to climate protection and adaptation. In the coming weeks, two more locations in Thuringia will also become greener. Mobile tree avenues will then be unveiled in Nordhausen and Pößneck.