Carsten Fröhlich

Stadt Bamberg
Matthias Herbert
Wilderness
in urban areas
Examples from the
competition
“Federal Nature
Conservation Capital”
Urban green spaces can be more than just closely mown areas
of lawn. Amidst the concrete of the city they can provide a piece
of wilderness and a habitat for many plants and animals. Such
areas are important in many ways. They help to regulate the
urban climate, reduce noise and aid water retention. At the same
time they provide convenient leisure space for those who live
nearby.
Stadt Münster
Jens Schiller
Oases of wilderness can develop
in urban areas if land is left
completely unused for long
periods. At the end of the 1990s
Berlin finally awarded conservation
status to a large vacant site in the
middle of the city. On the roughly
18-hectare site of a former railway
shunting yard, dry grassland,
communities of tall herbaceous
perennials and areas of dense
woodland had developed largely
undisturbed over some 40 years.
Stadt Münster
By sowing areas to grass, local
authorities can do much to make green
spaces more natural, often with an
associated reduction in maintenance
needs and costs. For example, the town
of Rastatt has created species-rich
flower meadows on several hectares
of urban land; this area has become an
important haven for wild bees. In the
town of Münster, mixtures of wildflower
and meadow seeds have for some time
been sown along the edges of roads
and tracks, so that the area now has
colourful and species-rich verges that
are adapted to their specific location.
Federal Agency
for Nature
Conservation
GRÜN BERLIN Park und Garten GmbH
GRÜN BERLIN Park und Garten GmbH
GRÜN BERLIN Park und Garten GmbH
Torsten Wilke
Torsten Wilke
Torsten Wilke
Encountering
nature in
urban areas
Examples from the
competition “Federal
Nature Conservation
Capital”
The opportunity to experience and understand the diversity of
nature fosters an attitude by which people treat our environment
with care. Many people encounter nature only within built-up
areas. Particularly for our children, urban areas need to include
places in which people can get as close as possible to nature in
its original form. Towns and districts in Germany are particularly
active in this field.
In Eckernförde, the sealed surface was
removed from a commercial brownfield
site covering 1.6 hectares in the town
and the site was transformed into a
natural play area with a hedge maze,
water play area and climbing facilities.
A quarter of the area has been left free
for natural succession.
Heidelberg has created a milestone
in environmental education with its
Stadt Eckernförde
woodland nature trail, which focuses
on fun and on the opportunity to
experience the forest through the
senses.
Children and young people spend
a large proportion of their time
in educational surroundings.
The town of Prenzlau has taken
account of this in the extensive
renovation and re-designing of
the grounds of a primary school.
A monotonous school yard has
become a varied and interesting
place with opportunities for
play, sport and encounters with
nature. A special feature is that
all the children of the town have
unrestricted access to the grounds
seven days a week.
Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau
Federal Agency
for Nature
Conservation
Stadt Freiburg im Breisgau
Stadt Prenzlau
Torsten Wilke
Gertrud Hein
Gertrud Hein
Biodiversity
in village settings
Cultural landscapes in rural areas host a great diversity of animal
and plant species. These also include old crop varieties and
domesticated animal breeds. If one still knows swallows or bats,
one has in many places no more idea of medicinal plants growing
in the wild (such as the Herzgespann) or old apple varieties (such
as the Gute Marianne).
Gertrud Hein
Gertrud Hein
A richly structured cultural landscape
is the best guarantor of biodiversity
conservation. This in turn depends
upon creative ideas and viable
strategies for the utilisation of such
diversity. Involving local people
plays a key role. Biological diversity
is increasingly being perceived as a
part of regional identity and as a part
of what creates a sense of home.
Bund Heimat und Umwelt (BHU),
the German federation of heritage
conservation associations, is one of
the institutions working to preserve
biological diversity in villages. Its work
last year also received support from
the BfN. Further information on this is
available at: www.bhu.de
Gertrud Hein
Land uses and structures are changing
apace. As a result, such organisms
are increasingly disappearing – often
unnoticed – from village environments.
A lack of knowledge of habitat and
species diversity is amplifying the
impacts of this change upon village
lifeworlds.
Federal Agency
for Nature
Conservation
Gertrud Hein
Gertrud Hein
Gertrud Hein