TREES PROJECT

A project funded by European Union which aims to to further develop and transfer at the European level a method of raising environmental awareness through the use of theatre.

ABOUT US

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

– Nelson Henderson

BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

As the impacts of climate and environmental change have become increasingly visible, the need to raise environmental awareness has grown more urgent. Across Europe, communities and public authorities have relied mainly on education, media campaigns, and information tools to address this challenge, while culture—and theatre in particular—has remained largely underused as a means of environmental engagement.

The TREES project set out to explore and demonstrate the potential of theatre to contribute to environmental awareness in a different way. Building on research showing that knowledge alone rarely changes behaviour unless it is accompanied by emotional engagement, the project used performing arts to create experiences that could touch audiences on a deeper level and encourage reflection, empathy, and attitude change.

Through site-specific, outdoor, and free-of-charge performances in public spaces, TREES reached audiences beyond those already sensitised to climate issues. By inviting passers-by, local communities, and diverse social groups into artistic encounters with trees, forests, and ecosystems, the project showed that theatre can be a powerful tool for fostering emotional connection and opening new perspectives on environmental responsibility.

NEEDS OF THE PROJECT

The TREES project was developed in response to a clear societal challenge: despite the strong potential of theatre to raise awareness on environmental issues and inspire more active engagement with climate challenges, its role in this field had remained limited. Throughout the project, TREES demonstrated that theatre can indeed become a meaningful actor in the broader effort to address climate change, particularly when it engages emotions and lived experience.

At the same time, the project confirmed that many theatre organisations initially lacked concrete tools, methods, and approaches to address climate-related issues in an effective and accessible way. Climate change is often perceived as complex, abstract, and difficult to translate into traditional theatrical narratives—a challenge long recognised within the theatre field. As theatre director Katie Mitchell has noted, theatre has historically struggled to find adequate forms to represent climate change, and to connect artistic reflection with real-world action.

TREES responded to this gap by developing and testing artistic approaches that link performance with lived realities, local contexts, and civic engagement. By creating, adapting, and transferring open, participatory, and site-specific methods, the project enabled theatre practitioners to engage audiences beyond traditional theatre-goers and to build stronger connections between the stage, environmental awareness, and positive climate-related action.