Reopening of schools and parks: Reinickendorf on the upswing!

Reopening of schools and parks: Reinickendorf on the upswing!

On Thursday, September 4th, three additional school locations in Reinickendorf - the Jean Krämer School, the Otfried Preußler School and the Waldsee School - were released. In total, 55 of the 59 school locations have now reopened. The district mayor Emine Demirbüken-Wegner (CDU) was positive about the progress, but emphasized that the remaining four locations should also be reopened in time for the start of school.

However, the return to normality in school provision comes amid the aftermath of the severe storms that severely affected the district in June 2025. Gusts of up to 108 km/h caused numerous damages, which now require extensive tree care and felling work. The two storms left a trail of destruction and resulted in 600 tree trimming and felling jobs being commissioned over the past week. In addition, 300 additional measures were added, as reported on berlin.de.

Felling work and parks

A total of 5,266 tree care and felling jobs have been recorded in Reinickendorf since the storm. Currently, 2,373 of these measures have been commissioned and 1,390 of them have already been successfully completed. The district's roads and green spaces authorities have initiated the complete processing of all streets in the severely affected districts such as Hermsdorf, Lübars, Waidmannslust and Wittenau.

The district mayor also thanked the employees of the Roads and Parks Department for their efforts. Some parks, including Steinbergpark and the Greenwich promenade with a playground, are open to the public again. Maintenance and felling measures are underway in the Schäferseepark and the amusement park at the Malche in Tegel to repair the damage to the trees.

Long-term challenges

Despite the positive developments, the district cannot breathe a sigh of relief in view of the longer-term consequences of the storm damage. Repairing the damage is expected to take several months and could last until next spring, as rbb24 notes. During the inspection of parks and forests, 180,000 trees are due for inspection. This requires special techniques as damage to tree crowns is often only visible from below.

The district mayor Demirbüken-Wegner has called for financial support from the Senate as the total damage is estimated at at least four million euros. Discussions about possible help are ongoing. Support from the Bundeswehr is also being considered, particularly with regard to logistics and technical personnel.

The risks and challenges following these storms have resulted in many entrances to parks and forests remaining closed - but citizens often ignore these warnings.

In summary, while progress in restoring school sites and parks is visible, the Reinickendorf district continues to face significant challenges. The road to completely repairing the storm damage and restoring safety to public green spaces remains long and arduous.