GEO Nature Day on 17 June in the Zeisigwald forest
The Chemnitz Environmental Centre/Agenda 21 Office is once again inviting all nature enthusiasts to the GEO Nature Day next Saturday, 17 June. Together with experts, the aim is to scrutinise nature in the Zeisigwald forest and discover which species can be found on our doorstep. The programme starts at 9 a.m. at the terminus of line 32 Dresdner Straße. The programme ends at around 2 pm. The day is supported and co-organised by the Erzgebirge Nature Conservation Association, the Nature Conservation Youth (NAJU), the Nachhall association and the Saxon State Foundation for Nature and the Environment.
The excursion will lead through the northern and southern Zeisigwald biotope network past the edge of the forest at the residual waste treatment plant on Weißer Weg. Botanist Jeanette Quegwer will explain the flora and forester Andreas Streich will report on forest soils and geology. Retired forester Ralf Göckeritz will also accompany the tour. Together with Lutz Röder from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), participants will discover NABU's orchard meadow, the "Apple 2000 Project".
The extinction of species continues in Germany. Every second bird species, a third of our fungi and 30 per cent of flowering plants are endangered or extinct. In Saxony, the species (two thirds) of the open agricultural landscape are particularly threatened. Many habitats for plants and animals have been destroyed by intensive agriculture, sealing and fragmentation.
As many people as possible should therefore be made aware of the diversity of nature, its importance as the basis of existence and its often underestimated economic value. The EU wants to stop the extinction of species by 2020.
Background:
The nationally recognised environmental magazine "GEO" first launched a campaign in 1999, which has since called on people to examine nature on their own doorstep every year. Thousands of people in Germany, from bug experts to university professors, take part. Within 24 hours, as many animal and plant species as possible must be identified in a limited area in order to show that biodiversity does not only exist in hidden corners of remote protected areas. It's not about setting records; it's the experience that counts. People with different interests work together to sharpen their awareness of biodiversity in their own neighbourhoods. Chemnitz regularly takes part in this initiative as part of Agenda 21.
Further information can be found at: www.geo.de/artenvielfalt