Edinburgh is currently home to more trees than people. The city has an ambitious goal to reach a million trees by 2030 as part of its national commitment to net zero. This mission can be more easily achieved if all groups from the Edinburgh community are aware of practical forms of contributing to it. Young people are key actors, but opportunities for them to engage seem to be lacking.

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In this context, the Global Shapers Edinburgh Hub will develop a ready-to-use guide for youth involvement in tree plantation activities (which will be published in our hub's website); and utilize the guide to organize pop-up tree plantation events where young individuals between 17-30 years can sign up, plant trees, and further their knowledge of tree plantation in the city. This will be done in conjunction with the Edinburgh City Council, ensuring that proper steps, as devised by expert bodies, are followed.

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Our short-term outcomes (for 2022) include the ready-to-use guide for youth involvement in tree plantation activities, and a first pop-up tree plantation event. We plan to have at least 10 to 15 young individuals people attend the pop-up reforestation event; 15 to 25 trees planted during the event; and receive constructive feedback through surveys.

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In the mid-term (2023), we plan to partner with youth climate action groups, sustainability groups, university societies and students’ association in Edinburgh to facilitate uptake of the guide. In addition, we will use the feedback received from the first pop-up reforestation event to conduct 2 more events, and work with schools, universities and youth centers so that they can eventually replicate the project model by holding their own pop-up reforestation events in line with the guide we will have produced.

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Finally, in the long-term (2024), we plan to have a replicable tree plantation guide that can be employed by other hubs in their respective cities; and have 300 trees planted, helping absorb around 12000 pounds of carbon dioxide in 3 years, thereby advancing the city’s net zero commitment.