Melbourne: “Email a tree” Campaign
Policy Title: The “Treemail” Initiative and Movement
Year Adopted: 2015
City: Melbourne, Australia
Main Citation: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33560182
Description:
Sometimes, the best way to protect a forest is to establish an emotional connection with it. In 2010, after years of drought, Melbourne realized that much of its urban canopy was damaged or diseased. The city did not have the resources to examine every tree individually; instead, it opted to create a unique ID and email address for each tree in hopes that citizen scientists would send in health reports about the trees in their neighborhood. The program was intended as a digital reporting service for trees “in a severe state of decline”... but not everyone used it that way.
Unintentionally, Melbourne’s “Treemail” campaign anthropomorphized the trees as “owners” of their email addresses and provided a path for citizens to express their love for specific trees in their community. “People literally are talking to these trees as if they are people,” said councilor Aaron Wood in 2015. The emails sent ranged from humorous (“I’m sorry my dog pees on you every morning”) to affectionate (“as I was leaving St Mary's College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty”) to cautionary (“do be very careful, and if you notice any unfamiliar insects, e-mail an arboriculturist at once.”) Melbourne’s Urban Forest Visual continues to map all the trees in the city and assign them emails as they are planted. It is possible that “Treemail,” which continued for years and reached Aussies all over the world, contributed to the city’s current love of its forest and dedication to its urban canopy goals.
Impact:
As of 2024, thousands of emails from across and beyond Australia have contributed to the creation of Melbourne’s Urban Forest Visual. The Treemail project has assisted the city in tending to damaged trees, removing dead ones, and protecting its mature, healthy forest. Forestry plan data shows impressive progress in the protection of Melbourne’s tree canopy, but more research is necessary to determine if efforts have led to fewer instances of mature tree loss due to development.
Additional Resources:
http://melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-12/people-are-emailing-trees/10468964 (2018)