Partners
The University of Florence (UNIFI), founded in 1924, is one of Italy’s leading research and higher education institutions, characterized by a strong focus on internationalization and sustainable development.
UNIFI coordinates the TREESURE project through two specialized departments: DAGRI (Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry) and DICEA (Civil and Environmental Engineering).
The University leads strategic activities including global project management (WP1), case study definition and monitoring (WP2), and the development of innovative methodologies for monitoring tree health and stability through the integration of satellite imagery, remote sensing, and IoT sensor networks.
UNIFI provides the core scientific foundation for the project’s multi-risk analysis, bridging wind engineering with urban forestry and advanced monitoring. Leveraging world-class infrastructure such as the GeoLab (Laboratory of Forest Geomatics) and CRIACIV (Inter-University Research Centre on Wind Engineering and Building Aerodynamics), the University performs advanced dynamic tests on scale models and processes complex spatial data to identify tree failure thresholds. These activities are fundamental to the calibration of the TREESURE Decision Support System (DSS). Beyond coordination, UNIFI ensures scientific coherence across all Work Packages to provide a robust framework for urban climate resilience.
VABT (Vigilanza Antincendi Boschivi Toscana) is a volunteer-based organization, active since 1974 throughout the Tuscan region, dedicated to forest fire prevention, monitoring, and response, as well as to broader environmental protection and emergency management activities. Thanks to its long-standing operational experience, VABT plays a central role in bridging technological innovation with real-world emergency response practices.
Within the project, VABT plays a key role in the implementation, real-life demonstration, and operational validation of the Decision Support System (DSS), with a specific focus on safety, emergency management, and coordination among multiple stakeholders. VABT’s contribution is primarily oriented towards translating DSS functionalities into practical and applicable procedures, ensuring alignment with civil protection systems and established disaster response protocols. In this context, VABT leads Work Package 5, which is dedicated to the real-life demonstration of the DSS and the co-creation of policy toolboxes supporting decision-making processes. Across WP5, VABT is responsible for the design and coordination of real-life demonstrations, simulation exercises, and validation activities, ensuring that the DSS is tested under realistic operational conditions. It contributes to the development and assessment of demonstration protocols, supports the evaluation of safety aspects, and facilitates the involvement of practitioners, local authorities, and citizens in co-creation and validation processes. VABT also plays a key role in the collection and analysis of feedback, supporting the identification of lessons learned and the refinement of DSS functionalities and policy toolboxes.
Beyond WP5, VABT is actively involved as an operational support body across other project tasks, collaborating closely with other project partners.
AIJU is a Technological Institute specialising in children’s products and leisure, located in Ibi, Alicante (Spain), with additional facilities in Valencia.
The aim of AIJU in the TREESURE project is to facilitate the understanding of consumer behaviour and develop the interface of the decision support tool for risk evaluation, management, and awareness of tree fall-related disasters (DSS), including the dashboard panel and the associated application.
Within the project, AIJU contributes to the analysis of user needs in the case studies and leads the creation of guidelines for the co-creation and co-design processes, working closely with users to ensure their expectations are reflected in the system design. Additionally, AIJU develops playful materials to facilitate these processes.
AIJU is also responsible for the continuous design and refinement of the DSS interface, ensuring it is intuitive and efficient through co-creation and feedback from the initial prototype.
Finally, AIJU organises demonstrations of the system in real-life settings, allowing users to interact with the platform and provide feedback for its continuous improvement, ensuring that the DSS is accessible, comprehensible, and useful for all involved users.
INCDS ‘Marin Dracea was established in 1933 and experienced several historical transformations since its foundation. Today, the INCDS mission is to develop science, technology and innovation in the field of forestry and environmental protection, with the aim of ensuring, on a scientific basis, the increase in the capacity, quality, and competitiveness of research, development and innovation for the development of the forestry sector, increasing its economic competitiveness by finding solutions to societal challenges (climatic, environmental, and socio-economic), with an impact on peoples’ quality of life. The research domains covered are: Dendrometry, forest management, Forest monitoring and inventory, Forest ecology, Genetics and tree breeding, Game management and biology, Silvotehnics and ecological reconstruction, Forest protection, and Forest geomatics.
INCDS is responsible for two critical tasks. First, they lead the Environmental Analysis for Tree Selection (Task 2.3), where they scrutinize local tree stocks across all pilot sites to identify the species most vulnerable to wind and weather damage, ultimately creating the “Tree Catalogue” that underpins the project’s monitoring strategy. Second, INCDS manages Ethical Aspects and Gender Equality (Task 1.5), establishing the project’s ethical guidelines, overseeing compliance with regulations like GDPR during data collection, and ensuring gender balance and fairness throughout the research activities.
Aditionally, INCDS is the co-leader of the Brașov Pilot Site, where they are responsible for translating the project’s concepts into real-world action. This involves extensive fieldwork to create urban tree inventories and measuring growth parameters to feed into the Decision Support System (DSS). INCDS manages the physical deployment of IoT sensors on trees in Brașov and oversees their ongoing maintenance. Beyond technical implementation, they act as the local host for stakeholder engagement, organizing tabletop games, co-creation workshops, and real-life demonstrations to validate the system with local authorities, first responders, and citizens. Furthermore, they contribute essential data for the Life Cycle Assessment (WP6), helping to validate the environmental and economic sustainability of the TREESURE solution.
Associazione Cultura REPublic ETS (CREP) is an Italian Third Sector Organisation with solid experience in participatory governance, community engagement, and the co-design of public-interest solutions at local and metropolitan level. The organisation operates at the intersection of social innovation, sustainability, risk awareness, and capacity building, supporting public authorities, civil society organisations, and local communities in translating complex policy frameworks into concrete, locally grounded practices.
Within the TREESURE project, CREP plays a strategic role as the lead partner for social engagement, co-creation processes, and user-centred validation, ensuring that the technical solutions developed are understandable, usable, and trusted by end users. CREP leads Work Package 4 (WP4), dedicated to the co-creation of the app and the validation of the Decision Support System (DSS), and contributes substantially to WP2 and WP5, which focus on needs analysis, stakeholder engagement, tabletop exercises, and the co-creation of local policy toolboxes.
Through its role, CREP acts as a bridge between technology developers, public authorities, emergency services, and local communities, guaranteeing that TREESURE’s outputs are not only scientifically robust, but also socially accepted, operationally feasible, and adaptable to different local contexts. This contribution is central to increasing the long-term uptake, impact, and replicability of the TREESURE Decision Support System across Europe
The Foundation for the Future of Cities is a research foundation dedicated to the ecological transition of cities. The Foundation studies and evaluates strategies and solutions for increasing the environmental quality, resilience, sustainability, and adaptive capacity of urban areas to the effects of global warming and climate change.
The very presence of the plant world within urban contexts is of vital importance in the Foundation’s planning, where the natural and built environment participate in creating a place of well-being, equity and sustainability.
Urban forestation, green roofs and facades, widespread strategies of greening and demineralization of cities transform the dominant idea of population centers into potential “urban jungles.” A change in vision that is achieved through finding new solutions and through effective outreach to the population.
With a staff of more tan 120 members, Cesefor’s goal is to contribute to the integral development of the forestry sector by promoting sustainability, innovation and research in all productive areas, integrating the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
Cesefor is a member of the European Forest Institute and other leading international working and research networks, and its aim is to be a key player in technological development and applied innovation covering real needs of the forest owners, managers and industry.
In the areas of action in cities and urban forestry, Cesefor has been involved in several national and European projects, such as Quick Urban Forestation, Urbanew, BRERA and Río Rua, among others.
Cesefor has also worked providing technical assistance to public and private property for the maintenance of a system regulated by the standards UNE and through the PEFC system. About the implementation and certification service for the Wood industry: 60 companies have implemented the Chain of Custody System (PEFC) and 50 companies the CE trademark for products.
CONTACTICA is a Spain-based innovation consultancy, with offices in Madrid and Pontevedra, specialising in sustainability, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and eco-innovation across sectors such as environment, food, health, and the circular economy. With over 15 years of experience and participation in more than 25 European-funded projects, CONTACTICA supports organisations throughout the full R&D lifecycle—from concept development and funding acquisition to implementation and exploitation—helping them reduce environmental impact and enhance competitiveness through sustainable, data-driven solutions.
Within the TREESURE project, CONTACTICA leads Work Package 6 (WP6) on sustainability assessment under a Life Cycle Approach, evaluating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project’s solutions, and Work Package 7 (WP7) on communication, dissemination, and exploitation, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and uptake of results. In addition, CONTACTICA contributes to WP1 (project management) and WP5 (real-life demonstration and co-creation of the Decision Support System), integrating sustainability principles into validation activities and supporting the overall impact and replicability of the project.
Cecina is a Tuscan municipality with 28,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno in Tuscany, located on the Etruscan Coast. It is mainly flat and covers an area of 42.48 km², known for its sandy beaches (Blue Flag), its lush coastal pine forest (Tombolo Nature Reserve), important archaeological sites and a strong tourist, commercial and food and wine vocation, combining the liveliness of the town with the sea and nature.
In the TreeSure project, the Municipality of Cecina provides access to the local resources necessary for the case study analysis (WP2); supports the development of the DSS (Decision Support System) in WP3; facilitates the involvement of local stakeholders in co-creation activities in WP4 and WP5; collaborates in communication, dissemination and exploitation activities, as well as participating directly in project events.
Bluebiloba is an innovative start-up and spin-off of the University of Florence, established in 2018. It provides innovative services for precision agriculture and forestry, and develops participatory projects in rural areas. The Bluebiloba team consists of about 15 people from different multidisciplinary sectors: forestry, IT, and supply chain management.
Bluebiloba deals with:
a) precision forestry and remote sensing services using drones and satellite imagery;
b) geodatabase development, decision support IT systems, and integrated tracking systems;
c) industrial prototyping, development of IoT and Nature Based solutions;
d) monitoring of tree stability in urban environments; e) public and private shared land-use planning projects;
f) development and management of circular supply chains;
g) design for Italian and European tenders/calls;
h) development of risk maps for fire prevention and planning of post-fire recovery activities;
i) naturalistic engineering projects.
The company has extensive experience in territorial management with a circular, shared and multi-scale approach, in remote sensing and in solutions for environmental protection, improving human well-being, climate change mitigation and sustainable development. Over the years, Bluebiloba has also gained extensive experience in governance and stakeholder capacity building, as well as experience in managing European funds and development programmes. It has developed specific expertise in the development of tailor-made IT solutions and in the implementation of bottom-up shared and sustainable spatial planning projects, based on the involvement of companies, public and private bodies.
Since 2024, Bluebiloba has been an Associate Member of the European Forest Institute.
