Environmental department head Rosemarie Heilig presents new form of environmental education
(ffm) It's only available once, but it's happy to come back. "WildnisWagen" is the name of the unique specimen, which from now on should make mobile advertising for the project "Cities dare wilderness" of the environmental office. On Monday, it was presented at the Hauptwache.
Strictly speaking, the vehicle, which was driving around on the square in front of the Hauptwache, is not a car at all. The "WildnisWagen" is a converted cargo bike. But a very special one: within a few minutes it can be converted into a mobile information stand, including two sunshades. Head of the Environment Rosemarie Heilig was impressed by the device: "This is a wonderful new form of mobile environmental education. We can use it to promote the ideas and goals of the Wilderness Project throughout the city."
Frankfurt joins Hanover and Dessau-Roßlau in the "Cities dare Wilderness" project. At two locations in the city - the Nordpark Bonames and Monte Scherbelino - nature is largely left to its own devices. This wilderness is to be experienced by the people. This year, Cities Dare Wilderness was awarded the seal of approval "Excellent Project of the UN Decade on Biological Diversity 2018"". It will continue to be funded until 2021 by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in the Federal Programme on Biological Diversity with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
It is about "making the value of wild places in the city understandable to the public," said Councilwoman Heilig. "Because these spots are not only beautiful, but also increasingly necessary. Current problems such as insect mortality and global warming make that increasingly clear." Thomas Hartmanshenn of the Environmental Agency, nationwide coordinator of the "Cities Dare Wilderness" project, emphasized that the Wilderness Wagon is, in the best sense, "a vehicle to bring this issue to the people."
The special bicycle serves as an advertising medium and a place of mobile environmental education at the same time. Set up or unfolded, it becomes not only an exhibition of the project and the Frankfurt project areas but also a workbench. In addition, it contains utensils such as a microscope, a butterfly net and a virtual reality unit. In addition to its use with and for school classes and kindergarten groups, "wild" presentations in urban spaces are planned for the future. The wheel will be used by the new WildnisLotsen for action afternoons on insects, wild herbs and other topics related to urban nature and can be booked individually for environmental education on the project areas.
The idea for the WildnisWagen was born in 2017, and after joint further development of the idea, the cargo bike has been designed since the beginning of the year in the project forge of the UX Environmental Exploratorium in Frankfurt and manufactured in companies in the Rhine-Main area: The e-bike originates from Darmstadt, the superstructure was manufactured in Reichelsheim, digital printing and the cover were created in Frankfurt. The total costs amount to 15,000 euros
