Last updated: August 2022
Meadow orchards with fruit trees were an integral part of subsistence farming and form part of the cultural heritage of Wuppertal. To preserve and further develop these meadows as an important habitat for flora and fauna and promote their potential for sustainable consumption, 4 such meadows were sponsored, maintained and promoted by the city of Wuppertal in close collaboration with the working group for fruit meadows via events, communal harvesting activities and hands-on courses since 1999. Since 2015, these meadows have increasingly drawn the attention of "foodsharing" movements and during the nationwide research year "future town". (Ref. 1, 2, 6, 8). Enclosed between areas of intensive conventional agriculture and the federal motorway, the orchards as islands of biological diversity are important places of retreat and relaxation. (Ref. 5) Communal activities are also offered, such as the co-creation of “edible experience spaces”, joint harvesting and providing a base for additional social projects (Ref. 6).
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Allotments
- Community gardens
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Other
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Preservation of historic traditions
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Protection of natural ecosystems, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
Project objectives
Protection of the habitat “fruit meadow” which provides a habitat for diverse flora and fauna (biotope network) and creating public awareness of the importance of the latter in the local ecosystems (Ref. 2)
Preservation of important cultural heritage in the region based on continuous maintenance of historical forms of use of fruit meadows and its adjacent habitats, the development of functional use structures and knowledge transfer of best practices (Ref. 2 and 5)
Sustainable consumption: encouraging harvesting and processing of fruits in order to prevent them from going to waste (since nobody harvests them on public spaces) (Ref. 2)
Raising awareness about the “Fruit Meadow” habitat and to motivate people to preserve these traditional orchards which have mostly been lost to industrialization. (Ref. 13)
Implementation activities
To foster and maintain meadow orchards, the working group fruit meadows “Bergisches Städtedreieck” (consisting both of volunteers and several fixed employees – see also governance part) has implemented a cross-municipal information and events network for interested citizens of Solingen, Remscheid and Wuppertal. In collaboration with the city of Wuppertal, which took over sponsorship for four such meadows at the end of the nineties and has ever since maintained them, the following services are offered: public relations (excursions during bloom, setting up collection points for fruits), provision of information (species lists, literature references, plant supply, professional advice for planting, courses for cutting the trees, organizing question times, a regular’s table), connecting meadow owners with consumers and sales of the produce (income generated is reinvested into the project) (Ref. 1, 2, 3 and 4). As part of the permanent protection, maintenance and promotion of the still rudimentary orchards, dying fruit trees are compensated for by planting old, regional fruit varieties. As far as possible, the dead trees deliberately remain in the area in order to enrich the variety of small habitats for many species in the area first as standing and then as lying dead wood. For pollination, bee colonies are used by members of the association on both surfaces. In addition, bumblebees and wild bees are actively promoted through numerous nesting aids. Outside the grazed areas, numerous insect nutrient plants are specifically promoted, not only to serve as a source of food during the vegetation period, but also to be available in winter as a hibernation space for the different development stages of the individual insect species. The targeted promotion of insect nutrient plants requires a rich invertebrate fauna. From different species of ants and ground beetles to moths, the orchards offer a rich variety of rare and commonplace species in the smallest of spaces. (Ref. 5)
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect native species
- Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
- Means for conservation governance
- Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
- Raise public awareness
- Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation
- Protect and apply traditional knowledge and conservation practices
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
- Other
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Taskforce groups
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The working group “Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck” consists of several actors, such as the nature conservation association RBN, the Wuppertal representation of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union Germany (NABU), the landscape authority of Remscheid, Solingen and Wuppertal, the biological station “Mittlere Wupper”, the fruit juice producer Weber and fruit meadow practitioners of the region. It collaborates with the city of Wuppertal which sponsors four of the meadows, to maintain the meadows, organize events and promote the support of citizens with this issue (Ref. 1 and 2). More recently, the Germany-wide initiative “Mundraub”, the local “foodsharing” movement and the Wuppertal Institute got involved by organizing a so-called harvest camp which consisted of helping a local farmer harvest the apples from his land in order to protect the grazing horses (for which they are harmful) which were then distributed to helpers and local residents (Ref. 6 and 10).
The initiative Mundraub collaborated with the Wuppertal Institute for scientific documentation and assessment of their activities and the potential of fruit tree harvesting as new self-sufficient food supply systems in urban areas (Ref. 6 and 7).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Yes
(There is a biodiversity strategy of the European Commission whose objective is to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU and help stop global biodiversity loss by 2020. It reflects the commitments taken by the EU in 2010, within the international Convention on Biological Diversity (Ref. 13))
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(Germany's National Strategy for Biodiversity was implemented in 2007. Its aims is to mobilize and connect all societal forces to reduce, alleviate and finally eliminate dangers for biological diversity in Germany so that in the future, biodiversity along with its regionally special features can thrive again. To support this strategy a project coordinated by the NABU NRW concerning the maintenance of genetic resources in the orcharding in NRW was carried out from 2012 to 2015 with national and EU funds (Ref. 11 and 12).
In addition, the science year focussing on the future city organized by the National Ministry for Research and Education in 2015 dedicated a special thematic focus on "city harvest" and encouraging citizens to harvest vegetables and fruits on open spaces in their region (Ref. 8). )
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
- Donations
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Increased spread of native/heirloom/open-pollinated seed
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Education
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
- Other
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper. (n.d.). Arbeitskreis Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck. Streuobstwiesen erhalten und erneuern. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020]
2. Stadt Wuppertal. (n.d.). Obstwiesen. Streuobstwiesen in Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Acessed: 22 Sept. 2020]
3. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck. (2016). Arbeitsgemeinschaft Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck. Termine Frühjahr/Sommer 2017. Wuppertal, Germany. [Weblink unavailable in 2020].
4. Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper, & BUND Kreisgruppe Solingen. (2017). Veranstaltungsprogramm. Natur erleben in Remscheid, Solingen und Wuppertal. Wuppertal, Germany. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]
5. UN-Dekade Biologische Vielfalt Geschäftsstelle. (2017). Lebensraum artenreiche Streuobstwiese. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
6. Wuppertal Institut für Klima / Umwelt / Energie gGmbH, & Terra Concordia gUG - Mundraub. (2015). Unser Obst wächst vor der Haustür - Neue Trends im urbanen Raum. Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
7. Wuppertal Institut für Klima / Umwelt / Energie gGmbH. (2017). Wissenschaftliche Begleitung der Kampagne “Mundraub macht Source link Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
8. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2015). Wissenschaftsjahr 2015 Zukunftsstadt. (Selbst-)Versorgung in Stadt & Land. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
9. Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper. (n.d.-b). Das Netzwerk der Biologischen Stationen in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
10. Terra Concordia gUG Deutschland. (n.d.). Mundraub. Erntecamp in Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
11. Bundesminiterium für Umwelt / Naturschutz / Bau und Reaktorsicherheit. (2015). Nationale Strategie zur biologischen Vielfalt. Kabinettsbeschluss vom 7. November 2007. [Weblink unavailable in 2020].
12. NABU Nordrhein-Westfalen. (n.d.). Gesucht: lokale und regionale Obstsorten in NRW. Ein Beitrag zum Erhalt genetischer Ressourcen im Obstbau. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
2. Stadt Wuppertal. (n.d.). Obstwiesen. Streuobstwiesen in Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Acessed: 22 Sept. 2020]
3. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck. (2016). Arbeitsgemeinschaft Obstwiesen Bergisches Städtedreieck. Termine Frühjahr/Sommer 2017. Wuppertal, Germany. [Weblink unavailable in 2020].
4. Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper, & BUND Kreisgruppe Solingen. (2017). Veranstaltungsprogramm. Natur erleben in Remscheid, Solingen und Wuppertal. Wuppertal, Germany. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]
5. UN-Dekade Biologische Vielfalt Geschäftsstelle. (2017). Lebensraum artenreiche Streuobstwiese. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
6. Wuppertal Institut für Klima / Umwelt / Energie gGmbH, & Terra Concordia gUG - Mundraub. (2015). Unser Obst wächst vor der Haustür - Neue Trends im urbanen Raum. Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
7. Wuppertal Institut für Klima / Umwelt / Energie gGmbH. (2017). Wissenschaftliche Begleitung der Kampagne “Mundraub macht Source link Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
8. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2015). Wissenschaftsjahr 2015 Zukunftsstadt. (Selbst-)Versorgung in Stadt & Land. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
9. Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper. (n.d.-b). Das Netzwerk der Biologischen Stationen in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
10. Terra Concordia gUG Deutschland. (n.d.). Mundraub. Erntecamp in Wuppertal. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].
11. Bundesminiterium für Umwelt / Naturschutz / Bau und Reaktorsicherheit. (2015). Nationale Strategie zur biologischen Vielfalt. Kabinettsbeschluss vom 7. November 2007. [Weblink unavailable in 2020].
12. NABU Nordrhein-Westfalen. (n.d.). Gesucht: lokale und regionale Obstsorten in NRW. Ein Beitrag zum Erhalt genetischer Ressourcen im Obstbau. Available at: Source link [Accessed: 22 Sept. 2020].