Open in gAIa Seven trees in Vliegenbos, a densely wooded urban park in Amsterdam Noord, are taking part in Play Vliegenbos with gAIa, a project that aims to give trees a voice. It explores how biodiversity, local knowledge and community stewardship can become active ingredients in spatial decision-making.
Why the trees join the game
The trees and gAIa will join an analog game session designed by Play the City. There, the trees will speak for themselves and on behalf of other living beings and nature, helping shape the park's future.
This matters because around 6,500 homes are planned right next to the park. That raises concerns and conflicting interests: how can the park remain a green oasis without losing its unique natural ecosystem?
How to take part
This map is a simplified interface of the gAIa app. Each tree asks a question, and its theme appears in the speech bubble. The trees want to collect your observations, which will shape their opinions and deliberation during the game session.
Ideally, visit the trees in person and answer from your own experience. But if you have been to Vliegenbos, live nearby, or are simply curious, feel free to join from wherever you are. How the conversation in and around nature unfolds is up to you and the tree.
Interaction tips
- Read the speech bubbles: Click a speech bubble to read or hear what the tree wants to know and to see the full, tailored question it will ask you.
- Explore a tree: Click a gAIa leaf icon to open the tree's data summary. You'll find its profile photos, its current and potential future contributions to the ecosystem, and earlier public conversations with other visitors.
- Talk to a specific tree: Click the conversation icon on the left side of the panel to ask the tree about itself and the biodiversity around it, and talk with it directly.
- Chat with gAIa: Click the conversation icon without a tree selected to chat with gAIa, the digital voice of nature, who represents all trees.
- Change the language: Open the settings menu to choose from several languages, including Dutch.
About the project
Play Vliegenbos with gAIa is led by Play the City in partnership with Lucidminds, and supported by Stichting Vliegenbos and Pakhuis de Zwijger. It is funded in part by the Stimulation Fund Creative Industries' Architecture program.