Sögel – In the spring of 2013, over 1,000 students from the Hümmling Gymnasium and the Sögel Oberschule ("Schule am Schloss") planted exactly 10,738 trees and 892 shrubs on a newly developed 2.1-hectare plot next to Lake Radde in Sögel. Both schools assumed sponsorship of the then-young forest for a period of 30 years. This included the right, but also the obligation, to incorporate the topic of forests into their curriculum.
The planting of the new forest was made possible as part of the "School Forest Against Climate Change" project of the "Zukunft Wald" foundation, whose director at the time was Franz Hüsing, a native of Sögel. Before taking over the foundation's leadership, Hüsing held leading positions in forestry in the Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel area. He not only provided financial support for the creation of the climate forest, but also actively participated in its implementation in his home community.
The Emsland District Nature Conservation Foundation was and remains on board, not only providing the land but also supporting and overseeing the new school forest as part of the Emsland-wide climate protection forest program. The municipality of Sögel and other sponsors also contributed to the implementation of this project, which has since received multiple awards.
The display board shows that in 2013, the following tree and eight shrub species were planted by the students as part of the mammoth project: English oak, common beech, silver birch, sycamore maple, hornbeam, pine, wild fruit trees, field maple, and wild cherry.
Over the years, the trees and shrubs flourished and developed into a substantial forest. However, the increasingly dense undergrowth became problematic, as Markus Schute, teacher and coordinator for environmentally conscious behavior at the Schloss School, explained in last year's information for Sögel. Schute emphasized: "In the spirit of education for sustainable development (ESD), the school forest cannot be used effectively because the stinging nettles and the prickly berries, some of which grow as tall as a person, make it almost impossible to cross the school forest."
Translated by Google •
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