Otto-Leege-Path

Viewing platform on Flugplatzstrasse

Otto Leege Gate

Refuge at the goldfish ponds

Information board for the water sound bowl

Plug-in chair

The Otto-Leege-Path is an ecological and artistic educational trail on the East Frisian island of Juist , which is dedicated to the natural scientist and "father" of the bird island Memmert Otto Leege (1862–1951). The path is located in the east dunes of Juister between the main town of the island and Wilhelmshöhe.

course

The approximately one kilometer long nature trail explains the nature of the dune island with its complex ecological relationships to the island visitor . He crosses the whole island from the salt marshes in the south to the beach in the north.

The path begins in the south at the new viewing platform on Flugplatzstrasse . There is a picture floor showing the migration routes of the migratory birds. The plank path built on wooden stilts with a railing made of wood and ship rope bridges the approximately 120 meters to Jaguar Street and allows a wide view over the island dunes , the salt marshes, the mudflats and the mainland coast. Several relief panels are attached to the railing showing the development of the island morphology.

The nature trail continues from Jaguar Street to the Juister goldfish ponds. The Otto Leege Gate and an octagonal shelter have been located there since June 2009 , in which the life and work of the natural scientist Otto Leege is documented on a display board. The 5.75 meter high and 6.45 meter wide honor gate in the style of a Japanese torii was carved from four Douglas firs from the Hatter forests and then transported to the island.

From the goldfish ponds, the path continues through the typical Juister dune landscape to another viewing platform on the northern edge dunes. From here you have a panoramic view of the beach, the east dunes up to Café Wilhelmshöhe, the Wadden Sea and the village.

The art installations “Wind Harp” and “Water Sound Bowl”, which invite you to participate and experience, show further stations on the nature trail. There are 22 so-called plug-in chairs distributed along the path as seating, which were made by pupils of the “project group carpenters” at the Wetterau Waldorf School in Bad Nauheim .

history

The idea for the educational trail was developed by the Otto Leege Institute based on Juist in cooperation with the National Park Administration of Lower Saxony Wadden Sea and the island community of Juist. The building owner of the facility is the Otto Leege Institute. The project management is carried out by the sculptor Bernd F. K. Bunk from Sandhatt, who is also the chairman of the institute.

In 2007, the Otto Leege Institute announced an internet competition to design an educational trail on Juist. Fifteen contributions were received. The first prize, endowed with 5,000 euros , went to the contribution of landscape ecologist Elke Freese from Oldenburg . The award ceremony took place on May 10, 2008. Since then, we have been working on the implementation of the educational trail. In 2009 the Otto-Leege-Tor and the refuge dedicated to Otto Leege were built, in 2010 the viewing platforms and the art installations . In the further implementation there were then disagreements between the institutions involved, including with the National Park Administration of Lower Saxony Wadden Sea. At first it was not possible to agree on the design and content of the information and display boards. The official opening of the Otto-Leege-Path, originally planned for spring 2011, has therefore not yet taken place.

The educational trail was built with funds from the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU in the amount of 73,518.00 euros as well as grants from the “Experience Nature” program of the “Experience Nature and Sustainable Development” funding guidelines for the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site in 2010 from the State of Lower Saxony funded by 108,382.58 euros.

Art installations and action elements

Otto-Leege-Tor - The Otto-Leege-Tor stands for Otto Leege's work for nature conservation, with which a gate into the future has been opened. This was a prerequisite for the recognition of the Wadden Sea World Heritage.

Wind harp - The two meter high wind harp is a rotatable wooden sculpture made of solid oak, which turns by itself in the wind and creates sounds through a few taut metal strings. As the harp can be rotated, the sound and volume can be influenced by the visitor. It was designed by the sculptor Bernd F. K. Bunk. The design was implemented by chainsaw artist Peter Neubert and wind harp builder Jutta Kelm.

Water Klangschale - The water-filled bronze shell has two handles, can be generated on the different means of friction sounds.

Bild-Boden - Based on designs by the first prize winner Elke Freese: In this installation, the floor of the viewing platform on Flugplatzstrasse becomes the "Bild-Boden". It is a two-dimensional representation and shows a map of the world and the migratory routes and most important locations of the migratory birds in the platform floor.