Only healthy trees can guarantee the diverse and important effects of urban greenery. Healthy trees beautify the cityscape, improve the air and even have a positive influence on our health. Sick trees, on the other hand, can be expensive for cities: they usually have to be felled before they can cause damage if a branch falls. A good water balance is essential for the trees. They also need water, for example, to defend themselves against pests.

Due to the increasingly extreme weather events (drought or floods), green spaces and city trees are becoming more and more important. And at the same time, older trees also increasingly need support in dry times. At the same time as the maintenance effort is greater, most cities do not receive any additional funds for their management. This is where casting sponsorships can make sense. Also because citizens often like to support nature in their city.

Casting sponsorships: Is nothing worth nothing for nothing?

Watering sponsorships make it possible to water older trees in particular. But how can cities and the population work together successfully? The cities also need security that the Gießpat:innen really do their job.

Here it is helpful to point out the long tradition of voluntary work throughout the German-speaking world. Countless voluntary helpers and non-profit associations take on a wide range of tasks throughout the language area. On the website from the German volunteering it says that more than 2020 million people did voluntary work in 17! The spectrum for voluntary work is limitless: As a trainer in a club, as a language teacher for asylum seekers, as an environmentalist, as a first aid trainer, as a companion for older people. There is also voluntary work in civil protection and in organizations such as Doctors Without Borders.

Countless people are already volunteering for a wide variety of issues.

What is important for casting sponsorships:

For the success of watering sponsorships, knowledge about tree watering is required. Watering sponsors should know that trees are watered differently than most plants in the home or garden. Watering sponsors cannot fully rely on their experience with other plants or on their intuition, although both are good bases.

Unlike most plants in our gardens, trees have their roots deep in the ground. It is therefore crucial that enough water can seep into the deeper layers. Only there - in the deeper layers of the earth - can the tree absorb the water. It is therefore better to make fewer waterings, but to give a lot of water per watering. Optimal is 150-200 liters with 1-2 waterings per week. It is also important that the water is released slowly so that it can seep into the deep layers of the earth. That takes time and patience.

There are several methods to efficiently water trees. In cooperation with watering sponsorships, tree watering bags are particularly suitable for city trees.
These offer the following advantages:

• You can soak 75 liters of water into the soil over 6-9 hours in one pour and it only takes minutes to fill up the bag. The water has plenty of time to seep away, although the time investment is minimal.
• If you connect two bags to a tree, you can also release 150 or 200 liters of water in one pour. This is the ideal amount for one tree.
• Due to the drip irrigation of the bags, the water seeps into the ground so slowly that the ground can absorb all the water. Because no water is washed away, you can save water at the same time. This is an important factor for Gießpat:innen because they often pay for the water out of their own pockets.
• By watering with a watering bag, a measurable and clear recommendation can be made for the watering godparents (e.g. 2x2 bags per week). This recommendation is helpful for many watering sponsors, since the water requirements of trees are not easy to estimate. This also makes it easier to calculate the casting effort. 
• Watering patients know that this means that they need relatively little time to water their trees efficiently
• In addition, the bags can be printed. In this way, for example, you can draw the attention of other parts of the population to the casting sponsorships and promote public acceptance of them
• Because Gießpat:innen are given (or borrowed) an irrigation bag, they become visible as Gießpat:innen. You gain recognition and commitment.