In 2023 we were able to introduce around 300 children to the diversity in nature, plants, wild bees, beetles, hay humpers and the bird world. The students and kindergarten children were easily enthusiastic with input sequences, magnifying glasses, safety nets and movement games in nature.

But adults also increasingly enjoyed this peaceful place this year. Some natural history hikes, a birdwatching hike, a tree pruning course and local clubs used the area on the nature trail as the end point to meet there and conclude the events with drinks, grilled sausage and interesting conversations about our wonderful nature on the Upper Rhine.

This year we managed to win three more partners to create additional refuges for birds and insects. New habitats were created on the land of these interested parties. Creating and maintaining such islands in the middle of an often intensively used environment is not easy. Every year we gain new insights. A major obstacle to the recultivation of original species richness is over-fertilized soil. Fast-growing plants such as bluegrass, dandelions and yarrow therefore overgrow the newly sown diverse plant diversity. However, our experiments with flowering meadows that are mulched or mown at different frequencies show different results in terms of their durability. In this way, we are gaining increasing confidence in dealing with the conditions with over-fertilization and the karst subsoil in this country.

Experience Easter Monday in nature

With the spring hike in 2023, the Black Forest Association Schwörstadt mobilized a considerable number of families. The hiking enthusiasts were drawn across the Dossenbach field and meadow landscape into the forest. Hidden in the undergrowth there was something special to discover here. Excited and expectant, the children swarmed out to hunt for Easter nests, an entertaining pleasure full of surprises. But that wasn't everything.

The hike ultimately led to the Dossenbach Nature Park Island of the Forest Creates Future Foundation. Uli and Helmut Hälker and Rolf Schmidt were already waiting for the guests there. Here the crowd, which has now grown to around 70 people, not only enjoyed grilled sausage and drinks, but also other fun. During the egg run for children and adults, the participants eagerly collected points, which, with further donations from those present and an addition of 140 euros from the Black Forest Association, resulted in a total of 660 euros in donations for Ukraine Aid.

The two non-profit organizations Black Forest Association and Forest Creates Future are united primarily by their love of nature and its visitors. The idea of ​​nature park islands aims to create refuges for endangered insect and bird species. Four more nature park islands are to be created in the municipality of Schwörstadt and the surrounding area this year.

For the first time this year, kindergartens can visit the nature trail in Dossenbach on request. Rolf Schmidt from the Black Forest Association and PL Helmut Hälker are happy to put together an appropriate program together with the educators.

are on offer

•     Breakfast under the trees of the meadow orchard
•     Inspection of the premises, the bee pastures and bird protection measures
•     Explanations and questions about honey and wild bees, their life and reproduction
•     Exploring insect occurrences in the area
•     Play in the great outdoors

The evangelical kindergarten in Lus in the city of Schopfheim and the kindergartens in Heidenstein and Dossenbach in the municipality of Schwörstadt have already made use of this this year.

The nature trail was inaugurated on Easter Monday, April 19th, 2022. The Easter hike of the Black Forest Association took place under the direction of Clemens Rüttnauer with an Easter nest hunt for the children. It was launched on the nature trail site in Dossenbach. Rolf Schmidt and Uli Hälker spoiled the members of the association and other visitors with grilled food and drinks, while an egg run for the more than 50 visitors took place on the meadow orchard. It was great fun for kids big and small. But it was also about collecting points, which led to a contribution from the Forest Creates Future Foundation for on-site help in Ukraine by transporting relief supplies. The visitors and the foundation jointly donated 876 euros for the donation to the "Roman Catholic parish of Wehr" - keyword Ukraine help. Last but not least, the board of directors of the Black Forest Association decided to increase the donation amount to 1,000 euros and to make a round of it. To all donors - many thanks.

Already last year we started with a first habitat for insects. In the meantime, the parcels of land that are distributed in the municipality of Schwörstadt are increasing, islands for diverse flora and fauna. We call them nature park islands, based on the large nature parks in Baden-Württemberg and the entire Federal Republic of Germany.

The bee pastures will be laid out and expanded again this year. At the end of March, the most diverse seeds from last year's trials were sown on 7 fields and 3 parcels of land. Bumblebee boxes and other bee hotels as well as a bed of sand and a thistle were also added. This is the soil for the upcoming wild bee season.

The collaboration with Rolf Schmidt and the Black Forest Association brought another topic to the fore. More than 30 nesting sites for wrynecks, little owls, starlings and other semi-cave and cave breeders as well as 4 nests for birds of prey were hung on 7 different plots with trees. This is how the nature park islands became habitats for rare insects and birds.

A small nature trail for adults and children has now been created from two connected parcels of land in the district of Dossenbach. Posters and signs with images for the little ones show visitors the background of the facility and are to be understood as an invitation for hikers, kindergartens and school classes to pause here and get input for their own garden design.

The native wild bee species and many other insects have largely lost their habitat due to the intensive use of the areas. Of the approx. 600 wild bee species in Germany alone, 50% are threatened with extinction. Urgent protective measures are required for our environment, its flora and fauna. In order to gain a first insight into the world of wild bees, we not only made explorations with and with network partners, but also started with the construction of five test fields in the vicinity of Schwörstadt / Dossenbach on the Upper Rhine.

The first contacts with existing interest groups and partners give us ideas which we implement immediately. From March to the beginning of September 2021, a number of installations for the protection of native insects were implemented.

As soon as the first blossoms appeared, visitors came along too. All is not lost yet, but many areas of refuge are needed for our threatened species. If we succeed in creating many suitable habitats with suitable host plants and nesting aids at short intervals, this will increase the diversity of insects again. Allotment gardeners, privateers, farmers, communities, nature conservation associations and clubs can help here. Our still small project should be the beginning of further initiatives, here on the Upper Rhine in Baden Württemberg and in the area of ​​the foundation forest in Brandenburg. There are already initial ideas for this.