Nature conservation center Ökowerk Berlin
The nature conservation center Ökowerk Berlin am Teufelssee is a non-governmental information and education center on issues of environmental education , landscape management and nature conservation . It is housed in the former Teufelssee waterworks in Grunewald , in the immediate vicinity of the Teufelsberg . The Ökowerk was opened in 1985 and offers exhibitions, events and courses for children, young people and adults on the subjects of nature, the environment and ecology. The water life information center is located in the center . In the information center of water life there is an interactive exhibition on water. The completely preserved old waterworks can be visited. Around the Ökowerk is the three-hectare outdoor area with biotopes such as ponds, orchards, dry grass and a large garden area with stone and flower gardens, organic gardens and beehives. The advice center for environmental education of the Senate Department for Education, Science and Research has its headquarters on the premises. The sponsor is the association Naturschutzzentrum Ökowerk Berlin e. V.
The waterworks was built in 1872/73 to supply the western suburbs of Berlin. The water was pumped from wells and treated in the waterworks and then u. a. to the water towers on the Spandauer Berg. The machine house has been preserved in its original state, making it the oldest preserved waterworks in Berlin. The operation of the waterworks was stopped in 1969 due to technical and hygienic deficiencies. The conveyor and filter systems can be viewed in their original condition. The system includes steam engines with their large flywheels and the associated scoop pumps as well as red brick buildings with a striking 35-meter-high chimney . The entire facility is under monument protection as object 09046570, T. From 1990, the buildings were renovated with funds from the preservation authorities.
history
The association Naturschutzzentrum Ökowerk Berlin e. V. was founded in 1982 by 12 nature conservation associations and around 200 individual members. In 1983 a usage contract was signed with the State of Berlin for the Grunewald waterworks, which were closed in 1981. On May 1, 1985, the approximately 2.4 hectare site was opened. After two years of preparatory work, it was equipped with open-air educational facilities. Since 1992 the nature conservation center has been financed by a 750-member association, the state of Berlin and donations.
natural reserve
The Ökowerk works on the preservation and care of habitats and endangered species in the Berlin area. The focus of the nature conservation work of the Ökowerk is in the Grunewald or on the site of the Ökowerk. The occurrence of lichen on the roof of the filter building, one of the oldest green roofs in Berlin, is unique for Berlin. During the roof renovation, the green roof had to be removed piece by piece by hand in order to put it back on the roof after the roof renovation. There are a number of different ponds with marsh and water plants and a variety of aquatic organisms from pond frogs to water fleas on the site .
The Ökowerk supports the Berlin Forests and the Senate Administration in the removal of neophytes - species that were settled by humans and originally not found in Berlin, such as robinia , red oak and ash maple, from the forest areas that are designated as landscape and nature reserves . From February to May, during the hikes from the winter quarters to the spawning waters, an amphibian protection fence is maintained at the Havelchaussee in the Grunewald along the eastern bank of the Havel . On behalf of the Senate Department for Urban Development also conservation bodies are on Teufelssee the still existing and in the Grunewald Moore maintained. In June 2012, as part of the Berlin Biodiversity Day, an inventory of biodiversity was carried out in northern Grunewald . The Ökowerk works with the monitoring of the Natura 2000 areas in Grunewald by the Senate Department for Urban Development. Excursions are carried out regularly in various protected areas.
The Ökowerk has created a nature conservation concept for the reconversion of the former American radar system on the Teufelsberg . Since the mid-1990s, the Ökowerk has been campaigning against the development of this highest mountain in Berlin in the middle of a forest area with the initiative Rettet den Teufelsberg . The Berlin Senate withdrew the building permit for the mountain in 2004 and designated the area again as a green area of special value in the zoning plan . In the Teufelsberg alliance , the Ökowerk works to ensure that the mountain becomes forest again after restoration. Furthermore, a lawn and play area are to be set up and an observation tower is to be built.
The Ökowerk works in the Agendaforum Berlin to implement Agenda 21 .
Environmental advice
The Ökowerk provides advice on various topics. One of these subject areas is natural history specialist advice. Furthermore, advice is offered on ecological building with clay , the use of old building materials and techniques for building paths in the garden area . The garden area is about organic gardens and wild gardens with native plants. When it comes to healthy eating , advice is given on whole foods, ingredients and additives in food, vegetarian food and recipes, alternative baking in the clay oven and the use of wild plants in the kitchen.
Environmental education
As part of environmental education, there is the green learning site Ökowerk . The center offers various programs for students of all ages. Investigations can be carried out in the laboratory with binoculars and microscopes and material for water and soil examinations. A library provides literature, in particular identification literature for animal and plant species. The green classroom is about the practical and action-oriented implementation of various nature and environmental topics. The aim is hands-on teaching with independent observation, discovery and experimentation.
Outside of school, the Ökowerk offers survival courses for children between the ages of eight and twelve. During the holidays there are adventure holidays in the Ökowerk . There are also night walks for children.
Employee
In addition to permanent employees, part-time employees and volunteers, the center employs young people in the Voluntary Ecological Year and federal volunteers .
magazine
From 1985 to 1998 the Ökowerk published the magazine Ökowerkmagazin , which has been available for sale since 1988. Naturmagazin has been around since 1999 . The naturmagazin , with the subtitle Berlin - Brandenburg , has been published since 2012 under the editorship of NABU Brandenburg, Ökowerk and the publisher Natur & Text GmbH. The two magazines appeared or appear quarterly with reports from the field of nature and environmental protection . The regional focus of reporting is the Berlin / Brandenburg region. In addition to key topics, there is current information on nature conservation policy, excursion and observation tips, book reviews and presentations of international protected areas.
See also
literature
- Berlin manual. The lexicon of the federal capital. FAB-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-927551-27-9 , pp. 870-871.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Berlin Handbook. The lexicon of the federal capital. FAB-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-927551-27-9 , pp. 870-871.
- ↑ http://www.berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/ueber-den- Bezirk/kultur-und-wissenschaft/veranstaltungsorte/ artikel.190069.php
- ↑ http://www.unterwegs-in-berlin.de/unterwegs-in-berlin/naturschutzzentrum-oekowerk-berlin/
- ↑ Teufelssee waterworks on the list of monuments of the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment