Studying in the forest garden: Pure nature!
2025-05-07 This is what teaching practice looks like at the School of Sustainability at Leuphana University of Lüneburg: Gloves on, hands in the soil. At the beginning of the 2025 summer semester, the forest garden project seminar met with students from the sustainability bachelor's degree in the forest garden in Lüneburg to discuss the seminar projects and start a planting campaign. The four hours flew by in spring-like April weather with a light breeze.
Scientific support
A forest garden - what is it anyway? We know forests, we know gardens, but forest gardens? Forest gardens are multi-layered systems that imitate the structure of a forest or forest edge with perennial, edible plants. These include fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, herbs and ground cover plants. They contribute to biodiversity and healthy soil life and bind CO2. Forest gardens offer healthy soil, high biodiversity and pleasantly cool tree shade. They help us to think differently about agriculture.
The forest garden at Hof an den Teichen, a Campus Foundation farm, is a permaculture and ark farm in Lüneburg Rettmer on the site of the former brickworks. Since October 2021, one hectare of farmland has already been transformed here with soil-improving measures. The first trees and shrubs were planted in spring 2022. Members of Leuphana University Lüneburg have been researching the topic of forest gardens for years and providing scientific support for the project.
One of the initiators of the forest garden at the Hof an den Teichen, Dr. Agnes Friedel, and the Bachelor's students. The seminar day begins with an exploration of the forest garden on their own. The forest garden faces south, towards the sun. There are fruit trees alternating with ground cover and shrubs in areas covered with hardwood mulch. It is mid-April, the first fresh green is showing and the fruit trees are beginning to blossom. The woodruff has already spread and is also in bloom. A skylark is singing, otherwise it is very quiet.
Off into practice
The seminar meets at a circular pergola and Agnes Friedel explains the structure of the forest garden. Comfrey, a plant with many uses, can be found everywhere in the garden. It is firmly anchored in the ground with its taproot, it is an insect magnet and a potassium store. It is also used on the farm at the ponds to feed the cattle or as manure in the irrigation water or for mulching. The students listen with interest and ask questions. Afterwards, they are allowed to take action themselves and plant some trees and shrubs.
In the 2025 summer semester, the seminar will focus on education, public relations and marketing with the aim of increasing the understanding of forest gardens as a multifunctional sustainability solution. Students will get to know forest gardens in various forms and stages of development in Lüneburg, Berlin and the surrounding area. In the seminar, students are assigned to various projects, such as the concept development and implementation of ecological monitoring or the preparation of a contribution to a forest garden congress.
You can see the students' interest and enthusiasm. We are excited to see what the projects will produce and look forward to seeing these forest garden oases continue to grow.