TreeMania

Internet of Trees

In December 2019, the INTERREG V A/ermn Steering Committee approved the TreeMania project with a budget of ca. 1.5 million euros. The project is coordinated by GIQS and includes the objective to develop innovative sustainable methods for the cultivation, planting and care of trees and shrubs in urban areas.

The efficient use of natural resources is one of the most important tasks facing society today. The growing world population and the level of prosperity is leading to an increase in residential areas, which is increasing urbanisation and leaving less and less room for green space. There are no suitable concepts for sustainably maintaining a healthy living environment in urban areas. With the signing of Agenda 2030 in 2016, both the Netherlands and Germany have set themselves ambitious goals, which now have to be implemented mainly at municipal level.

These goals must also be achieved with the help of digital technology. The German sustainability strategy literally states: “In view of Agenda 2030, it is important to use technical and scientific progress to address ecological and social challenges. Sustainability and digitisation demand or lead to change in society, the economy and lifestyle”.

The goal of TreeMania is to develop sustainable methods for the cultivation, planting and care of trees and shrubs in urban areas. The project will combine these methods with digital elements and artificial intelligence to collect soil, tree and bush health data and compile them into dashboards. This product of sustainable landscape and soil management, digital technology and state-of-the-art sensor technology makes this project approach innovative.

TreeMania has many positive effects: Environmental protection, sustainable urban development (e.g. air quality, temperature balance, fine particulate pollution, groundwater abstraction, biodiversity, flood protection), making the common space more attractive to citizens and contributing to the targeted fulfilment of legal requirements (“from means to purpose rules”).

Project partners

The project, which is planned to run for two until three years, is being coordinated by GIQS and carried out with twelve partners from the German-Dutch border region. These include four entrepreneurs: Arnold Co-Innovatie, De Biogeoloog, Detiger and Whysor B.V.; four Dutch municipalities: Maastricht, Nijmegen, Venray and Weert; and two German municipalities: Krefeld and Mönchengladbach.