The Idea Team

We are a transdisciplinary team made up of various departments from Freie Universität and external partners from the fields of art and business.

Together, we are committed to preserving biodiversity and protecting the climate on campus and in the city. It is important to us that we involve as many people as possible in our project and use our apple orchard as an example to show how concrete measures and good education can promote biodiversity and climate resilience on campus.

The project is led by Karola Braun-Wanke, coordinator of the SUSTAIN IT! initiative, and Prof. Dr. Matthias Rillig, AG Rillig, Department of Biology. In our hands-on lab, we involve other stakeholders and experts from Freie Universität Berlin and the city of Berlin, such as the campus management of the Technical Department, students from various disciplines, the Blühender Campus initiative, UniGardening@SUSTAIN IT!, the NUN coordination office, a terrapreta specialist, a plant ecologist, a soil researcher, the district's green space office, a wild bee expert, a freelance artist, tree experts and a pomologist.

About the Idea

On the campus of Freie Universität Berlin, more and more fruit trees and orchards are being lost to development or are in a worrying state in some cases. One such endangered apple orchard is located on Otto-von-Simson-Straße on the Dahlem campus. This apple meadow is not only a small place of biodiversity, but also a popular place for FU members and Berlin citizens to linger.

As a project team, it is important to us to preserve this small apple orchard with our hands-on laboratory and to create a long-term learning and meeting place on the topics of biodiversity and climate protection and to make it visible and tangible.

At the heart of our hands-on laboratory is a two-semester, transdisciplinary seminar in the ABV area of Sustainable Development. Together with students and experts from various fields, we would like to first explore the apple orchard and then consider how we can preserve and promote the biodiversity of animals and plants and their habitats. At the same time, we want to use our project to talk to other FU members and local residents and raise their awareness of biodiversity conservation.

The aim of our hands-on lab is to jointly develop a concept of measures to improve soil, species, climate and water protection. This is to be presented to the Technical Department in fall 2023 and then tested for feasibility. With this project, we want to make a practical contribution to achieving the goals of the Berlin Biodiversity Strategy and the FU Berlin's Climate Emergency Declaration.

The seminar started in the summer semester 2023. Weitere Informationen unter: https://www.fu-berlin.de/vv/de/lv/798602?m=348955&pc=478016&sm=682860

Outlook

We are looking forward to a flourishing, species-rich apple orchard where students, employees, citizens, animals and plants enjoy spending time and which is preserved sustainably for everyone.

Contact

Karola Braun-Wanke: karola.braun-wanke@fu-berlin.de

Judith Hübner: judith.huebner@fu-berlin.de