dear tree neighbour
a public art and behaviour-change campaign reconnecting city dwellers with nature
the insight
In cities, people are facing an epidemic of disconnect. Nature fades into the background as we walk, jog and scroll past it. Doing anything but looking up to see who else we share our home with.
the idea
In many ancient cultures, trees are seen as wise elders, possessing strength and wisdom beyond human comprehension. So what if we rewrote neighbourhood trees as just that - our neighbours. Living, breathing beings who stand next to us through life’s happy, mundane and heartbreaking moments.
Dear Tree Neighbour invites people to write a letter to a tree. A small, human act that turns a tree overlooked into someone familiar.
the setting
Centennial Park has over 30 million human visitors a year, 15,000 trees and is described as the ‘lungs’ of Sydney, Australia.
One of the world’s most iconic urban parks is the perfect place to start a global shift in how cities relate to nature.
the activation
In the lead up to National Tree Day, loyal parkland visitors - including run clubs, walkers and cyclists - will be invited to be the first contributors to a special Tree Neighbour Trail. New audiences will be reached via social media, through micro-influencers will introduce their “tree neighbours” and build curiosity around a simple question: Who’s your tree?
On National Tree Day, the park becomes a living, growing exhibition, beginning with letters from loyal visitors and expanding as passersby are turned into participants, through Tree Neighbour Stations and Guided Trails. Photography and videography capture real letters and voices, enabling the campaign to live on beyond National Tree Day.
the impact
Thousands of letters,
millions of moments of reflection.
A park full of strangers—
starting to feel like a neighbourhood.
the legacy
A simple behaviour, built to travel.
From Sydney to cities around the world,
Dear Tree Neighbour creates a blueprint for reconnecting people with the nature they live alongside.