Jean Giono’s 1953 short story “L’homme qui plantait des arbres” (engl. “The Man Who Planted Trees”) provides the point of reference for the collaborative performance project. It is the story of shepherd Elzeard Bouffier who, with the vision of making the land fertile and livable again, plants tens of thousands of trees in the barren and deforested hinterland of the Provence region shortly before the First World War. With the slow revegetation of the land and the reemergence of a biosphere, people start returning to the abandoned villages. The once disrupted cycle of life reawakens.

In cooperation and in artistic dialogue with young people from Floridsdorf—a group of students of the Middle School on Kinzerplatz square and a group from the academic secondary school BG & BRG 21—a performance for the public space that is inspired by the story is developed under the direction of Hanna Binder over the summer semester of 2022. In parallel to the rehearsals, the students learn—in workshops held by the Institute of Silviculture of BOKU Vienna—about botanical aspects with regard to the planting of trees. They also look after tree seedlings on the school campus during the rehearsal period. In conclusion of the project, part of the seedlings will be permanently planted in the 21st district. The project lives through the contribution and collaboration of many different actors.