On Friday, 11th of April – right before the Easter break – Sabine Vogelgesang’s biology class did not meet for an ordinary lesson in the classroom. Instead, the 12 students and their teacher met up with Andreas Schuck, senior researcher at the European Forest Institute, at the Mooswald forest located in the City Forest of Freiburg.

There they visited the “Mooswald” Marteloscope. It was a sunny but cold morning, especially in the forest – surprising some of the more lightly dressed students. The cooling function of the forest was hence not only understood in theory but could actually be felt – just like the recreational value, and many more of the functions our forests fulfil. Standing right between marvellous oak trees and impressive beeches, as well as studying ecological interrelations, students were able to grasp the difficulty of making good decisions between the objectives of biodiversity conservation or wood production. Many engaging questions were asked, and surely students were touched by this interactive experience. Hopefully, they will remember these insights should they ever be in a position to decide in favour of sustainable forest management. 

This news item was written by Sabine Vogelgesang, Biology Teacher at Montessori Zentrum ANGELL Freiburg

Photo credits: Andreas Schuck