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Urban Labor-a-Tree – Growing York’s Treescape

Interactive activities

This event has now finished.

Event date
Friday 16 May 2025, 12pm to 2pm
Location
In-person only
MSD/R/B10, Sustainibility Clinic, Campus West, University of York (Map)
Audience
Open to staff, students, the public
Admission
Free admission, booking required

Event details

Urban trees are more than just greenery. They clean our air, support biodiversity, enhance community wellbeing, and even contribute to achieving net zero targets. But what if you were in charge of shaping the future of York’s treescape?

Join us at the University of York’s Sustainability Clinic to be among the first to try Urban Labor-a-Tree, an innovative board game inspired by insights from residents in Milton Keynes, Cardiff, and York through the Branching Out project and brought to life in a YESI Discipline Hopping Fellowship. Experience the challenges and rewards of cultivating and managing a vibrant urban treescape while testing your green thumb and strategic thinking.

More Details:

  • Plant and nurture different types of trees in parks, along streets, and around homes.
  • Navigate real-world challenges like floods, droughts, and even vandalism.
  • Collaborate with fellow players to balance priorities: from building green corridors for wildlife to establishing community orchards.
  • Explore how urban trees impact public health, quality of life, and environmental resilience.

Why Play?

This is more than just a game – it’s a chance to experience the complexities of urban greening firsthand. You’ll gain insights into how decisions affect both people and nature, all while having fun and contributing your thoughts on how we can refine and improve Urban Labor-a-Tree.

Open to all – students, residents, and anyone interested in urban greening! We will have two sessions with limited spaces per session, so be sure to book your place soon!

Let’s grow together. See you there!

Contributors

Joanne Morris / Branching Out

“Branching Out is a very exciting project to be part of. Not only do we have the opportunity to make a real difference to the way that social and cultural values of trees are properly considered, leading to fully rounded and informed planning and policy-making. But also to integrate our research in storytelling with environmental and social science expertise, as a way of bringing additional voices and experiences into the public discourse around the future of our urban treescapes.”

Location of event

Location: Sustainability Clinic, Market Square, University of York, YO10 5DD

What3words: ///bikes.jelly.held

Accessibility: The nearest bus stop is the University of York Library, on buses U1 or U2 from the city centre and the railway station