Children and adults together in the school forest: help for the trees!

Children and adults together in the school forest: help for the trees!

In the school forest of the municipal high school Olpe (SGO), a tradition has been cultivated for over 30 years, which has importance far beyond the limits of the city. This initiative includes the planting of class, step and high school trees and has developed into an important part of the school community. The forest is very popular with both the school community and for walkers.

Visitors have the opportunity to obtain information about the planted trees at various stations. This includes information about tree species, planting data and the respective planters. But this idyll threatens danger: competing plant species, such as gorse and lazy tree, take light and space for the young trees and endanger their growth.

work assignment for forest care

In order to meet these challenges, the SGO calls for a work assignment. This will take place on Saturday, March 29, from 10 a.m. The school community is dependent on the support of parents and other volunteers. Adults are asked to bring battery -driven free cutters and pruning shears, while children should take part with work gloves and rose shears. In order to organize the catering for the helpers, registration is required by Wednesday, March 26th, to paul-meier@gymnasium-olpe.de.

The idea of ​​the school forests, which also includes the school forest in Olpe, was implemented in Schleswig-Holstein in 1949. The school forests were originally created on clearing in state, community and private forest. By 1964 there were already 1,000 school forests in Schleswig-Holstein. Over time, however, the number of these forests decreased due to the closure of village schools.

school forest as a place of learning

In the 1970s, a reorientation was initiated in the school forest concept. The focus shifted to more ecology and the creation of outdoor area for biology lessons. The learning places are diverse and not only include forests, but also ponds, bogs, lakes, heath and dunes. These approaches promote school environmental education and contribute to sustainable development according to Agenda 21.

Currently there is a high demand for such school forests in Schleswig-Holstein. Around 150 schools now have their own school forest. In addition, two old school forests have been revitalized annually since 2016, in a cooperation between the German Forest Protection Association and the Schleswig-Holstein state forest. An annual state forest school prize rewarded exemplary school forest work, with the elementary school on Seecek on Selenter See in 2021.

Recently over 60 schools with the help of the Future Wald Foundation created their own school forests. This initiative aims to make biology lessons more descriptive. Students plant trees and shrubs and work in groups under the guidance of experienced adults. It shows how important it is to actively involve students in learning about ecosystems and give them the opportunity to experience nature up close.

This makes it clear that the maintenance of the school forests, as in Olpe, is not only a task, but also a valuable opportunity for education and promoting the environmental awareness of the coming generations. Lokalplus reports on this touching use, while the importance of such initiatives through the versatile approaches of the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald and the numerous projects in cooperation with schools