Wild perennials for schools: Free greenery for our future!

Wild perennials for schools: Free greenery for our future!

On Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, a particularly remarkable day of action will take place in the garden of the Mossestift in Berlin. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., schools, kindergartens, clubs and initiatives from the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district are invited to take an active part in promoting biodiversity. The event is supported by the Coordination Office for Nature, Environment, Climate and Sustainability Education (NUK+N) and offers free native wild perennials that are suitable for school or community gardens. The aim is to create natural habitats and increase awareness of the need to protect native plants and animals, which is particularly important in times of global biodiversity loss. [Berlin.de].

On site, participants not only receive brief advice on selecting and caring for plants, but also valuable tips on designing gardens that can help promote biodiversity. The event aims to further strengthen the commitment to nature conservation and environmental education in the district, which has been significantly promoted since the establishment of the NUK+N coordination office. The coordination office has the important task of bringing teachers and learners together and making environmental education offerings known in the district. The urban nature rangers Astrid Kinateder and Ina Wollstadt also support this.

Importance of biodiversity creation

Biodiversity not only includes the biological diversity of species and habitats, but is also an important part of environmental and nature conservation education. International agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in 1992, advocate the conservation of biological diversity on a global level and emphasize the integration of educational content on the sustainable use of biodiversity. The University of Osnabrück reported that the 15th World Conference on Biological Diversity in 2022 adopted new resolutions to improve communication and public awareness about biodiversity.

A central concern of biodiversity education is to promote knowledge, attitudes and behavior that are compatible with living in harmony with nature. The initiative in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is therefore part of a larger context that also includes the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, the coordination office contributes to the development of a network-oriented educational landscape in which the topics of nature and environmental protection play a central role.

Perspectives for the future

The need to maintain healthy ecosystems for human well-being is also emphasized by the Federal Government's Scientific Advisory Board on Global Environmental Change (WBGU). A comprehensive biodiversity document will be published in 2024 to provide important guidance on maintaining this value. In this context, educational initiatives such as those in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf are essential in order to sensitize and mobilize future generations to these challenges. Dorfwerkstadt emphasizes the central role of environmental education in the networking of the educational landscape.

Participants in the event are asked to bring their own transport materials such as boxes or boxes to transport the collected wild perennials home. In this way, the connection between theory and practice is strengthened by schools and other institutions contributing to biodiversity through their own trees.