Last month, the Urban ReLeaf Athens team brought together families for an interactive workshop that combined digital citizen science with hands-on creative learning, encouraging children and parents to explore the urban green spaces in their own neighbourhood.
The workshop was delivered through the collaboration of DAEM and B.R.I.C.K., with additional support from the Greening Department of the City of Athens and the Ministry of Education’s Environmental Education representative for elementary schools.
Hosted at the Serafeio Complex of the City of Athens, the workshop welcomed parents and children aged 7–11 for a day of discovery. The event began with an introduction to the Urban ReLeaf Athens Trees Campaign, where participants learned about the importance of urban trees and how digital tools can help communities better understand and care for green spaces. DAEM presented the campaign and demonstrated the Urban ReLeaf app, showing families how to record valuable information about trees across the city.
Each parent-child team was then assigned a unique “mission”: mapping the trees along a nearby street. Equipped with written app instructions, a measuring tape to record tree circumference, and an hour to complete their task, participants ventured into the surrounding neighbourhood to collect real-world data. The activity transformed families into citizen scientists, contributing valuable information while learning more about the trees that shape their local environment.
Following the mapping activity, children spent two hours bringing their observations to life through architecture-inspired model making. Guided by B.R.I.C.K., they created imaginative 3D models of Athens’ trees and neighbourhoods using a variety of materials, including sticks, colouring materials, printed elements, miniature trees and figures. Through creative construction, research, imagination and collaboration, the workshop encouraged children to see themselves as active contributors to the future of their city.
The workshop brought together technology, environmental education and creative design, to inspire young people to become active participants in mapping, understanding and reimagining the urban forest around them.
