Berlin Neighbors Water City Trees Like Beloved Pets Through Simple Neighborhood App

Quick Smiles:

• Berliners treat neighborhood trees like beloved pets through an easy-to-use app
• Volunteers help keep the city green during summer heatwaves with personal care
• Simple technology connects neighbors with their local trees for everyday acts of kindness

An open-source app has thousands of Berliners adopting and watering city trees as if they were their pets, helping keep the city green amid repeated summer heatwaves.

Gieß den Kiez translates to “water your neighborhood,” and offers users a map of the city with each one of the roughly 900,000 street trees of Berlin accessible as a living responsibility to care for.

Users receive notifications when their chosen trees need water, turning routine walks into gentle moments of stewardship and connection with nature.

“It’s like caring for a pet,” one user shared, explaining how the simple system creates daily purpose and joy.

Community members report feeling closer to their neighborhoods as they check on their leafy charges and meet other residents doing the same.

The app brings together technology and traditional values of stewardship, showing how small daily actions can make a lasting difference in urban environments.

Source