Girl’s Day at KIT: Researching Urban Trees

Numerous institutes and research groups took part in this year's Girls' Day at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with workshops and hands-on activities relating to the mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and engineering (STEM) subjects. The aim of 'Girls' Day – Girls' Future Day' is to introduce schoolgirls to various research and professional fields and spark their interest in science and technology.

Under the motto "Make the city your laboratory", Jan Totzki from Institute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG) and Katrin Fröhlich and Zoe Petridis from the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) jointly offered a workshop on research in urban trees and urban biodiversity. From 11:30 to 15:00, 20 girls between the ages of 10 and 12 explored the question of why trees are so important for cities and how researchers study their health and impact on the urban climate. After a short keynote speech, the participants were divided into three groups that went through different research stations.

At the first station, the girls examined microhabitats on urban trees and carried out tree measurements. Using binoculars, measuring tapes and special measuring devices, they determined tree height and trunk diameter and documented structures such as hollows, cracks and dead branches, which serve as habitats for numerous animal species.

The second station was dedicated to the effects of climate change on tree health. Here, the participants were able to attach sap flow sensors to a tree themselves and learned how researchers measure and evaluate water transport in trees.

The third station focused on the microclimate and ecosystem services of trees. The girls got to know sensors for measuring the microclimate and learned how trees contribute to cooling cities through evaporation and thus improve the urban climate.

The workshop not only gave the participants exciting insights into current research topics, but also showed how cities themselves can become research laboratories.