LIFE Tree check (LIFE Tree check)

Urban temperatures are several degrees higher than in the surrounding countryside. Scientists call this effect “heat island” and it is caused by a large concentration of buildings, people and cars, lots of asphalt and concrete surfaces, and not enough greenery or water. With temperatures on the rise, cities, in particular, will experience climatic extremes and their populations might not be ready for this.
 
LIFE Tree Check project, helps with the transformation and adaptation of our cities with a focus on Central Europe area, providing guidance and technology to enhance and increase green infrastructure across participating countries. Eight pilot cities (Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Walbrzych, Budapest, Presov, Kosice) in four participating countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland are guided into enhance and improve their green infrastructure with a combination of online and offline tools that will allow to provide a customized solution for each city.

A specific Manual "Livable and resilient cities" lists opportunities to reduce the urban heat island effect by Nature Based Solutions, while a free programme Tree Check PRO software can be used to plan adaptation measures that would mitigate the heat and drought by checking the cooling effect of specific trees in a city. Tree Check Pro an on-line programme based on map data, greenery inventory and information about trees taken from the Check Trees portal. Users can search for specific trees, shrubs or green areas and find out how they contribut to the cooling of the site on hot days (above 25 ° C).