Tiny Forest planted in Limpertsberg

To mark National Tree Day, celebrated every year in November, the City of Luxembourg's Service Parcs (Parks Department), in collaboration with Cycle 3.2 pupils from the Limpertsberg elementary school, planted an urban micro-forest on a plot of land at the intersection of Avenue Joseph Sax and Rue Lucien Wercollier in Limpertsberg on Friday, 15 November 2024. The planting of this tiny forest, the first of its kind in the capital, took place in the presence of Lydie Polfer, Mayor of the City of Luxembourg, Maurice Bauer, Chief Alderman responsible for the environment, and Serge Wilmes, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity.

Through this initiative, some 500 trees and shrubs have been added to the green register, which now includes 23,200 urban and park trees maintained by the City of Luxembourg's Service Parcs. The activity aimed to bring young people closer to nature, and the tree planting took place in an educational context that also helped teach the children about environmental protection. Particularly dense and small in size, these tiny forests feature 3 to 5 trees and shrubs per square metre and are ideally suited to urban landscaping. Far beyond simply beautifying neighbourhoods, these urban forests improve air quality by filtering dust and adding oxygen to the air, they remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, cool streets and public squares by creating shade and humidifying the air, and create a rich habitat for wildlife. On top of all of this, they have beneficial effects on people's mental and physical health. Studies have also shown that increasing the amount of small- and medium-sized green spaces that are well distributed over a given area reduces the formation of heat islands and enhances cooling.

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In addition, the Service Parcs, together with the Service Forêts/ (Forestry Department), also marked National Tree Day by planting a dozen fruit trees, including three apple trees of different varieties, three pear trees, three plum trees and three cherry trees, which line the pedestrian path on Rue de l'Avenir, just a few steps from the tiny forest.

In the face of the climate emergency, and in order to honour its commitments as set out in the College of Aldermen's 2023–2029 mission statement, the City of Luxembourg has made nature protection a top priority. To this end, the Service Forêts and Service Parcs, which are responsible for maintaining the capital's forests and green spaces, are committed to making forest ecosystems more resilient and protecting urban and park trees. But the City's environmental action is not limited to protecting what is already there, and its aim is for more than 30,000 new trees to be planted in the capital by 2030, thanks to the efforts of City departments and state agencies.

The brochure "Trees in the City", published by the City of Luxembourg, is available upon request in German, French and English (relationspubliques@vdl.lu) and at the Lëtzebuerg City Bibliothèque.