Kleve Nature Reserve

At this point there is a sign with information about the "Kleve" nature reserve.

Kleve is a nature reserve in the Schleswig-Holstein municipality of Sankt Michaelisdonn in the Dithmarschen district.
The nature reserve was designated in late 1962 (date of ordinance: November 8, 1962) and replaces the nature reserve of the same name that was designated in late 1938.[1] The largest part of the nature reserve is part of the 222-hectare FFH area "Klev- und Donnlandschaft bei St. Michaelisdonn". The district of Dithmarschen is responsible for the lower nature conservation authority. The nature reserve is managed by the Department of Culture and General - District Forests of the district of Dithmarschen.
The nature reserve is north of Brunsbüttel, a few hundred meters south-east of Sankt Michaelisdonn. It protects a slope up to 30 meters high on the border between Geest and Marsch. The slope is a historical cliff of the former North Sea coast. It extends along an old moraine from the Saale Ice Age. Spring water emerges from this in several places.
The Geest slope is predominantly forested with coppice and mixed oak forests.[5] In the northern part of the protected area, through which the St. Michaelisdonn-Friedrichskoog railway runs, there is also a grassland area. In the southern area of the nature reserve, heath grows on tree-free areas. Sometimes dry grass can also be found here. The heath must be grazed for maintenance. The removal of the grass and heath sods, known as plagging, must also be continued to rejuvenate the heath.
Up to 300 species of insects live on the heathland, including bumblebees, wild bees, wasps such as digger and spider wasps, hoverflies, grasshoppers and ground beetles. Numerous reptiles also occur here, e.g. B. slow worm, smooth snake, grass snake, adder as well as sand and wood lizard. Furthermore, the nature reserve offers a habitat for hares and wild rabbits as well as various species of marten.
The nature reserve is accessible at the edges by hiking trails. On the Bismarck stone in the north, a boulder that was found during the widening of the Kiel Canal from 1907 to 1914 and erected here in 1915, and on the Spiekerberg in the south, there are viewpoints of the Elbmarsch.
Source: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleve_(nature reserve)

The "Kleve" nature reserve, located southeast of St. Michaelisdonn in the Hopen district of Dithmarschen, has existed as such since November 8, 1962. Parts of the "Hoper or Donner Kleve" were bought by a nature conservation association as early as 1914, and then placed under the protection ordinance under the Reich Nature Conservation Act in 1938. At 11.9 hectares, it is certainly one of the smallest nature reserves in Schleswig-Holstein, but due to its animal and plant populations, it is a real treasure trove.