Giving back to nature - renaturalisation project in Wandlitz

The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) is supporting the Barnim-Uckermark Community Foundation with a renaturation project for a former holiday home in Wandlitz.

In 2017, the Barnim-Uckermark Community Foundation acquired a 1.7-hectare site near the Liepnitzsee lake. The aim was to work together with affected citizens to renaturalise the site, which had been disfigured by numerous ruined buildings, and to show by way of example that it is possible to completely restore such sealed areas to nature. The HNEE, represented by Prof. Dr Barbara Wolff, an expert in forest inventory and planning, has supported the community foundation in recent years in mapping the area and deriving and practically implementing the necessary renaturation measures. Prof Wolff also provided general advice on the project and involved interested students in the project. As part of the International Forest Ecosystem Management degree programme, a bachelor's thesis was written on assessing the naturalness of the existing woodland structures on the site. The concept has now been implemented and the nature-friendly demolition and renaturalisation work has begun.

In May 2021, the project was honoured with the "Active Citizenship 2021" (Aktive Bürgerschaft 2021) main prize. The main prizes were presented by Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn, who spoke in his laudatory speech of "outstanding projects" that the jury had selected from over 200 applications.