Acer saccharum 'Legacy' - Sugar Maple 'Legacy'

However, the 59-year-old is not only concerned with "climate trees" professionally: her commitment as a tree sponsor in the arboretum is a private affair of the heart. "When I heard about the tree planting campaign, it was immediately clear that I wanted to support this anniversary project of the HSWT," she says. She is happy to be surprised by the sugar maple (Acer saccharum "Legacy"), her sponsored tree; she has high hopes for the scientifically based planting concept at the University of applied sciences: "Of course, I also pursue an ecological approach in my work: we urgently need feedback on which trees and plants can cope with the changing climate in the city." Ariane Jungwirth is responsible for promoting appropriate measures because urban trees are affected by climate stress. To enhance site conditions, the tree discs around the road trees in Dachau are enlarged, and seals removed.

The Munich native studied architecture at the Technical University of Munich. Landscape Architecture would also have been an option for her. From the beginning, she was enthusiastic about urban planning and interdisciplinary exchange. She worked in an architectural office and as an assistant to a chair at the TU Munich. Jungwirth has been in Dachau since 1992. "We have the advantages of a medium-sized town and the proximity to the big city," she says, explaining the unique charm of her working home. Parallel to her tasks in Dachau, the dedicated urban planner accompanied urban planning/landscape planning design tasks of Landscape Architecture students at the HSWT from 2001 to 2014 as part of a teaching assignment. The projects she currently manages are immense: they range from a new land use plan for the entire city area to an integrated urban development concept for the main settlement area to redensification, population development and open space protection. In addition, there are further individual project planns, such as converting the former MD paper mill and redesigning the railway station. "A strategic approach to securing and upgrading open spaces is of particular importance to me," she explains emphatically, adding: "We have to think years ahead in our planning. Much of what we initiate today will hopefully only benefit future generations in 30 to 50 years' time."

And that brings us back to the topic of urban trees: for Jungwirth, a living organism that networks underground should not only visually enhance the Dachau railway station area but must also function as an air filter and shade provider. As she narrates, her fascination with trees is palpable. "The knowledge about them, about how adaptable they are, what effect they have and what tasks they can fulfil - this knowledge must also reach the offices," is Ariane Jungwirth's concluding plea. With her own sustainability aspirations, the urban planning expert will definitely keep an interested eye on the development of her sugar maple and on the research results of the HSWT in the coming years. And she will make the right "green" decisions in her office.

Distribution: Eastern North America, highlands and valleys, fresh-moist soils.

Size: 12 to 15 metres high, 8 to 9 metres wide

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, leathery, thick, light green, 3-5-lobed, 8 to 15 cm long, pointed, yellow-orange colour in autumn

Flower: yellowish, appears with foliage shoots