Baden-Baden (dpa/lsw) - Which animals and plants live in the forest, why is biodiversity important and how can it be preserved? Children at a school in Baden-Baden will soon be given answers to these and other questions in a very practical way. For the primary school in the Varnhalt/Neuweier district, the Black Forest Central/North Nature Park signed the first cooperation agreement in the spa town on Wednesday. Starting next summer, the youngest will learn everything about the forest, biodiversity, nature conservation and viticulture from experts in agriculture and forestry, about culture, customs and crafts.
According to Nature Park Manager Karl-Heinz Dunker, the aim is to teach schoolchildren modern local history and to sensitize them to the special features of their surroundings from the first grade through projects and excursions. "In this way, the children can develop a special relationship with their environment."
There are already 89 nature park schools in Baden-Württemberg: 25 in the southern Black Forest, 14 in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, 18 in the central/north Black Forest and two in Stromberg-Heuchelberg. The origins of such cooperation lie in Austria. The first nature park school on German soil was set up in Partenstein in the Spessart nature park in 2008. There are 198 nature park schools nationwide.
