Senate shortens natural help: Treptows cemetery sheep is in front of that!

Senate shortens natural help: Treptows cemetery sheep is in front of that!

The Berlin Senate decided in the financial year 2025 to delete the financial resources for the nature conservation project with the cemetery sheep in Treptow-Köpenick. This represents a significant setback for nature conservation and the quality of life in the district. City councilor Claudia Leistner from the Greens expressed their concern about this decision, which contributes to the fact that cemeteries are endangered as living places of relaxation and biodiversity. The waiver of the sheep that contributed to the natural mowing and saves CO₂ emissions could have negative consequences for the ecological balance in the region. Berliner Zeitung

The grazing in the cemeteries, which was tested in 2022 at the cemetery Baumschulenweg, received positive feedback. Therefore, the project has been expanded and now comprises the cemeteries in Adlershof, Oberschöneweide and Baumschulenweg, where rough -wool Pomersche landscapes are used. This grazing promotes the biodiversity of birds and small animals, including grasshoppers, bees and blind creep. Cemeteries are considered ideal areas for promoting biodiversity and offering a wide range of uses for visitors.

promote diversity

The cemetery areas in Treptow-Köpenick extend over almost six hectares and offer habitat for various animal species, including wild bees, green forn and reptiles such as fence lizards and grass snakes. Documented measures to promote biodiversity includes the system of insect -friendly perennial beds and the planting of trees that offer protection and food for birds. Furthermore, projects for the construction of wild bee hotels and stone gardens are planned. Warehouse rooms for lizards were created to improve their living conditions. berlin.de explains how these initiatives contribute to the biological diversity.

In the past, an impressive biodiversity was documented in Berlin cemeteries. In Kreuzberg, for example, 55 bird species were recorded between 2013 and 2015. The high biodiversity is the result of a mosaic management, which includes old tree stocks, extensively mowed meadows and little intensity of the fault. In other Berlin cemeteries, 150 plant species, including nine types of the Red List as well as numerous beetle and breeding bird species, were demonstrated. Targeted care and design of these habitats is therefore necessary to further secure and promote the biodiversity. City and Green emphasizes the importance of projects to promote biodiversity.

The developments around the cemetery sheep and its role in urban ecology are exemplary for the challenges in front of which nature conservation faces in urban rooms. Claudia Leistner's appeal to rethink the decision could not be understood as a call, the diverse advantages that cemeteries offer for biology and the city climate.