If you haven’t heard of guerrilla gardening, it’s a pretty simple concept: find an empty plot of land, any plot (even if it’s public property) and start planting. It doesn’t matter what: flowers, herbs, fruit, etc. The idea is to transform often abandoned or neglected patches of grass or shrub into rich, verdant vegetation, especially in an urban atmosphere.

According to The Local, Germany’s capital Berlin is actually the perfect example of guerrilla gardening catching on and taking off. Because Berlin is such a green metropolis (more than 40% of the city is covered in water, forests and green spaces), there’s a lot of space for guerrilla gardening enthusiasts.

If you’re a guerrilla gardener yourself, share some stories and pictures with us!

GLOBAL IDEAS has been at the Berlin based re:campaign, a conference that presents and analyses the best in online-campaigning. We shot a few interviews during the event which we will be releasing from today.

Our guest in the first interview was Ole Seidenberg. He is one of the organizers of the event. His agency ‘Nest’ counsels NGOs to build up successful campaigning using the internet. Ole has as well been one of the bloggers who was part of the initiative “Adopt A Negotiator.” We talked about climate change and social media. The interview was held in german.

We've told you a little about eco-friendly flying, but green travel has become one of the fastest-growing and most exciting parts of the tourism industry. At this year's ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, sustainable sustainable tourism is one of the biggest themes.

 

Exhibitors are offering ecologic tours at green resorts and hotels as well as vacation packages that are CO2 emissions-free! More and more people are looking for environmentally-conscious ways to travel–a way to see the world and experience new things without harming the world around them. Read more about ITB's sustainable trend here!

 

If you don't have a chance to get to ITB in Berlin, here's a list of some ecotourism travel companies who can help you organize a green vacation.
 

 

When the Berlinale, Germany's biggest film festival, takes place early every year even Hollywood is stopping by. For ten days lots of well known actors and directors are giving the capital the shiny flair of a movie metropolis. The eyes of the media are on Berlin.

Could you imagine a setting more fitting to highlight the importance of saving our climate?

That's why the festival is accompanied by a huge display of the iconic "HOLYWOOD" lettering from the Hollywood hills – in the "Tiergarten" park in Berlin's center. Artist Ralf Schmerberg has build up the installation to support the initiative "10,000 Trees for Berlin" and a book about the forest. The installation will be at the Tiergarten until the 20th of February 2011. You will hardly miss the sign between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburger Gate, because the letters are huge, 13 meters tall and all together about 53 meters wide.

So, what is the initiative meant to achieve? Well, 10,000 trees are currently missing on the streets of Berlin. The NGO's plan is to fill the empty spots in the city with new trees. Everyone can participate by sponsoring one or more of the missing trees. Trees are valuable and wood is holy, so to speak – hence the apparent misspelling in the sign.

For more information please visit the project's website.