FREE3 is a 12-month initiative funded under the COST Innovators Grant (CIG) scheme. Operating as a focused, technical continuation of the COST UB3GUARD (CA20132) Action, FREE3 translates existing scientific research into practical, market-ready, and societal solutions. Rather than generating new scientific data, FREE3 focuses entirely on implementation and innovation, delivering open-source digital tools, decision-support frameworks, and capacity-building resources to future-proof urban treescapes.  

Urban Tree Guard (COST Action CA20132), which operated under MoU 072/21 (CSO Approval: 25/05/2021) from October 26, 2021, to October 25, 2025, aimed to safeguard European urban trees and forests through improved biosecurity. Driven by a mission to improve quality of life, it supported urban tree biosecurity through networking and the sharing of knowledge and ideas. Its vision held that increased awareness, shared knowledge, and improved tools and strategies would empower European researchers, stakeholders, and politicians to protect urban trees from damage caused by pests and pathogens. To achieve this, the network focused on core objectives, including collecting, sharing, and harmonising scientific and stakeholder knowledge; accelerating the development of innovative technological tools and solutions for biosecurity; and informing policy with science-based recommendations for decision-makers at operational levels to support the implementation of the EU plant health regime. Furthermore, it fostered an inclusive and open research environment with explicit support for young professionals, increasing European competitiveness in biosecurity and improving everyday life for urban dwellers. Ultimately, its foundational goals centred on strengthening collaboration across disciplines and sectors, co-developing better strategies and tools, and transferring knowledge through education, dissemination, and policy advocacy to enhance readiness and support tree health in urban environments.

This Action, funded by COST Action, will bring together a pan-European and international network of scientists and stakeholders to meet this challenge.