Urban Trees Provide Natural Hydraulic Supply
On the 4th of July, 2025, Gießen will join the nationwide "Giving Can Day" ("Tag der Gießkanne") in an effort to support the health of city trees. This annual event, which was first introduced in Leipzig in 2024, aims to foster community engagement in watering city trees, a vital task for climate protection and urban greenery maintenance.
The Gießen Gießkannenmuseum, a local museum dedicated to the history and importance of water containers, will be participating in the "Germany waters" action as part of its anniversary celebrations. The meeting point for the museum's initiative will be at the Gießen Gießkannenmuseum (Sonnenstraße 3) at 6 pm on July 4th.
To participate, simply go out and water one or more city trees using a watering can, bucket, or any watering device you have. Every bit counts towards supporting the health of urban trees, which are known for their crucial role in producing oxygen, cooling the air, and filtering pollutants.
After watering, participants are encouraged to record their activity digitally by entering the watering event on the official website: www.deutschlandgiesst.de/tagdergiesskanne. This helps track the nationwide participation and shows the collective effort to protect urban greenery.
For those interested in community engagement, there is a meetup at the Gießkannenmuseum in Gießen at 6 PM on July 4th. This is a place where participants gather to celebrate and promote the watering campaign.
In addition, an optional short video can be recorded and uploaded of your watering action. This contributes to a virtual procession of watering cans across Germany, bringing visibility to the initiative.
The "Deutschland gießt" network, which includes citizen groups, administrations, and scientists, supports this initiative. This network works together to maintain and develop creative solutions for city tree care and climate adaptation.
By joining "Giving Can Day," you help protect urban trees during dry periods and support climate adaptation efforts in cities. The slogan for this day is "Give the city trees a good drink of water!" The goal of the Gießen Gießkannenmuseum's participation is to protect city trees and young trees, while also encouraging the development of creative solutions for watering city greenery.
To water trees correctly, use a large amount of water, but do so rarely. Ideally, let the water drip into the ground over many hours, and water early in the morning or later in the evening to avoid evaporation. Young trees need water every few days during droughts in the first three years, and the water should penetrate into the deeper soil layers.
Join Gießen and the nationwide effort to support urban trees on July 4, 2025, and make a difference in your local community and beyond.
Science plays a crucial role in understanding the environmental impact of urban trees, as well as developing creative solutions for watering city greenery. To support the environmental-science aspect of this, participants can record their watering activity digitally and share optional videos of the process online.
Home-and-garden enthusiasts can also contribute to the effort by participating in the Gießen Gießkannenmuseum's initiative, which aims to promote community engagement and encourages the adoption of environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices such as watering city trees.
