Berlin has lost 15 000 city trees over the last few years - and with every tree the city loses some quality of life. "Friends of the Earth Germany" aims to stop this trend. But how do you make people donate for a little known problem? Our strategy: people might not listen to a small NGO - but they surely listen to a tree that tries to raise donations by himself. In September 2012 we organized a one of a kind charity concert - with a 100 year old chestnut tree as the musician. For him we built a unique instrument: a touch-sensitive membrane construction, tailor-made to fit the tree. Each impact of a falling chestnut produced an artistic composition of sound and light. So the tree could play for his companions and collect donations.

Tree Concert became the talk of Berlin - and far beyond. Overnight every major newspaper in Berlin took up the subject, as well as TV and radio stations. The playing tree spread worldwide on social networks and hundreds of blogs. "Friends of the Earth Germany" registered a new donation record for the preservation of trees with an increase of 800% compared to the average month. The campaign brought people and nature together in a way that has never been done before. The charity concert lead to a broad discussion and changed the way people perceive city trees in Berlin.

The unique instrument consisted of a touch-sensitive membrane construction, tailor-made to fit the tree. Original sounds of the tree (rustling of leaves, groaning branches) became part of the composition. The installation was located at the heart of Berlin near the famous “Hackesche Höfe“ with thousands of passer-by's each day. Additionally, posters all over the city promoted the event as well as social media activities (Facebook, twitter). Local and national media (newspapers, TV and radio stations) and hundreds of blogs took up the subject, attracting even more visitors.

Every donation channel was linked to an incentive:

- The tree thanked every SMS-donor with a personal message

- Online donors received an exclusive dowonload track

- After the concert Berlin star-DJ Robot Koch produced a remix which continues to raise funds