Park life: Talking Tree spreads the green word

Brussels – People can follow the daily life of a tree in the city’s Bois de la Cambre park.

As part of an advertising campaign by communications agency Happiness Brussels for science magazine eos, the tree has been brought to life using sensors and devices that feed information to the internet.

Software translates what the Talking Tree feels, sees and hears into messages, such as: ‘I’m feeling really dizzy today. There are too many cars going by’ or ‘The air is getting a bit dirty. Do me a favour, take your bike.’ These are then shared on Facebook and Twitter. A video of the tree is displayed on YouTube, with images of it on Flickr and recorded sounds published on SoundCloud. The aim is to raise awareness of environmental issues including climate change.

This is an excellent example of how the online world is merging with the offline world to engage with consumers, a key aspect of our forthcoming Conviviality Culture report.