Cooperation with Heinrich-Hetz School and the Klövensteen Forestry Office: With a tree-planting campaign by pupils from Heinrich-Hertz School, the multi-year project „We Plant the Future!“ began on 14 April 2016, a cooperation between Trinkwasserwald e.V., Heinrich-Hetz School and the Klövensteen Forestry Office.
School forest in Klövensteen Forest
With a tree-planting campaign by pupils from Heinrich-Hertz School, the multi-year project „We Plant the Future!“ began on 14 April 2016, a cooperation between Trinkwasserwald e.V., Heinrich-Hetz School and the Klövensteen Forestry Office. This created the Heinrich-Hertz School’s school forest, the „HHS drinking water forest“. During accompanying environmental education sessions at the „Waldschule Klövensteen“, the pupils regularly go on exploratory walks through the newly created woodland to engage intensively with the topics of forest, drinking water and nature conservation.
Thanks to the great fundraising campaign during a sponsored run in 2014, Heinrich-Hertz School was able to create its „own woodland area“ in Klövensteen, and during the preparations for the future woodland area, pupils from the NaWi profile classes 7a and 7f helped out energetically together with their class teachers. Afterwards, the pupils were given a guided tour of the neighbouring forest.
Through the school forest, Trinkwasserwald e.V. promotes the native tree species beech, the so-called mother of the forest. On the one hand, the beech protects the soil with its broad crown and on the other hand, with its leaves falling in autumn, it enriches the humus layer on the ground. The leaves decompose well and leave behind the lime and protein brought up from deeper soil layers by the beech onto the forest floor. The humus is therefore enriched by the beech’s positive ecological contribution. After many years, when the beech has grown well, it can be harvested as valuable timber.
Heinrich-Hertz School
Heinrich-Hertz School is a large, long-established school in Hamburg which, with its sections, grammar school and district school, offers a comprehensive general education spectrum and is recognised as a UNESCO project school. There are about two hundred UNESCO project schools in Germany, and five in Hamburg alone. „Together we commit ourselves to our global responsibility, we take a view of the world, our daily learning and teaching relates to humanity. Our many projects on global themes find a common framework in the principles of UNESCO. In this way we strengthen our school community and take more interest in the projects of the other pupils and classes. We develop joint projects that affect the whole school and, even in subject teaching, make sure that ecological, social, intercultural and global themes are addressed.“
Klövensteen Forest
The Altona District Office, manager of Klövensteen Forest, is committed to the sustainable development of the forest and to supporting forest education and the teaching of values in schools and youth work. This guiding principle is reflected in the overall forestry operation and especially in the Waldschule Klövensteen. The Waldschule Klövensteen has been awarded twice as an official sustainability project of the UNESCO World Decade of „Education for Sustainable Development“.
„We Plant the Future!“ has been an official project of the UN Decade on Biodiversity since 2019
On 25 April 2019, the project „We Plant the Future!“ was officially recognised by the UN Decade on Biodiversity. The award was presented by Ralf Behrens from the Hamburg Authority for Environment and Energy, on behalf of the UN Decade office, during a formal ceremony at Heinrich-Hertz School. This honour is awarded to exemplary projects that make an extraordinary contribution to the conservation of biodiversity.
Sparda-Bank Hamburg Award 2016
With the environmental protection project „We Plant the Future!“, Trinkwasserwald e.V. received 3rd prize in the category „Commitment to Environmental Protection“ at the Sparda-Bank Hamburg Award 2016.
