Posts
Contributions from the project
An important goal of our project BioDivKultur is to share our project with others through actions and contributions. All contributions from the project as well as information on actions or findings are presented below chronologically in the timeline. Have fun browsing!
June 2023
Film ARTHROCALYPSE
Mai 2023
Krautschau 2023
On the day of biodiversity (22.05.) the nationwide “Krautschau” took place andwe were part of it again this year!
In a participatory star walk, various Krautschau walks met at different starting points: In the Martinsviertel on Riegerplatz, in the Johannesviertel on Viktoriaplatz, in the city center on Georg-Büchner-Platz, at the Woog, on the forecourt of the youth hostel and in Bessungen in the north of the Orangerie, at the future BUND Center for Urban Nature.
During the walks, attention was drawn to wild plants growing along and on our paths between paving stones, on the curb or between cracks in walls. At the Karolinenplatz the different routes of the star walk finally met for the joint conclusion. A final photo was taken together and the event ended in the Schlossgartencafe.
The nationwide herbaceous show was again coordinated by Julia Krohmer (Senckenberg). More information on the nationwide herbaceous show is available here:
WIESION - All about insects, spiders, mowers and meadowisions
The bioversum Jagdschloss Kranichstein is currently working diligently on a new exhibition on the subject of insects, spiders, meadows and mowing. What exactly are insects and spiders? What is meant by meadows and how were they formed? What does haymaking have to do with insects and why does the issue of mowing affect more than just people with their own lawns?
The exhibition “Wiesion” is dedicated to all these questions and many more.
On May 17 at 6 p.m. the ceremonial vernissage took place at the Jagdschloss Kranichstein.
Visit us from May 17, 2023 to October 31, 2023. The castle park is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00.
Biodiversitätskulturen
In May, our PhD students participated in the FEdA Impulse Meeting 2023 and presented the poster “Biodiversitätskulturen”. What exactly connects all disciplines and subprojects, you can see here:
Hackathon AT EYE HEIGHT
Anthro – Arthropo – Hackathon – Arthropothon – Arthropo – Anthro – Arthropozän – Arthropothon
Biodiversity Hackathon / Lab for Human-Insect Relationships
Food for thought, topics, provocations:
- Borderline: How beautiful can disgusting be?
- The insects are dying out. Some speak of biocide.
- Biodiversity: Can’t we do it ourselves?
- Where are they actually? And what do they want to tell us?
- Biodiverse out in the country and indoors in the city
- Insect policy, for each other and with each other.
Artistic and biological, tinkering and programming, citizens came together – first just out of curiosity for the group work or already as a team with an idea in the luggage, the ultimate Lifehack! We thought and collaborated, contributing our ideas on the language, politics, philosophy, technology and biology of biodiversity. Promising approaches were further developed in the ideas workshop for two whole days and into the night. Thanks for coming!
February 2023
Take over Seminar
As part of the seminar “Science Communication”, which was led by Johanna Freudenberg, the students took over our social media channels. You can see the result if you scroll down along February.
All posts are also available on Instagram.
So look forward to super creative contributions – it will be fun, exciting and as always informative.
The ethical assessment of biodiversity -
The need to preserve biodiversity is undisputed. But why should we protect biodiversity? Based on this question, the distinction between instrumental and intrinsic values is explained. Both take a fundamental role in the discussion about the ethical evaluation of biodiversity. In the article, Sonja Daum, Markus Lederer and Johanna Berger from the BioDivKultur team tell us what their focus is when justifying the protection of biodiversity.
A home for insects
Ant Anton shows you in this video with a few simple measures how your home can also become a habitat for others:
🎧 Our podcast series “BioDivKultur chirps” can be found here. There we talk about our project and the motivation behind it.
💡 You can find everything about our impulse events here.
🌷 You can find everything you need to actively help shape Darmstadt’s cityscape here.
🏡 BUND informs you about everything you can do at home for other living creatures here.
What is BioDivKultur?
Which topics are addressed within the project and how do natural sciences and humanities work together?
Prof. Dr. Nico Blüthgen and Prof. Dr. Nina Janich explain this and much more in this video:
The water, the soil and the plants in between
This post is about what plants in general can do through their roots in terms of soil & water:
Plants are more than just the green or beautifully flowering part above ground, but are also considerable parts roots below ground. Roots primarily fulfill the plant’s needs for water & nutrients. However, their influence on the soil is also significant. Roots hold the soil together and give it a more stable structure, which prevents soil parts from slipping & washing away. In addition, the roots maintain the water permeability of the soil and prevent it from being further compacted. This allows the water to better penetrate and be held in the soil. In addition, the foliage acts as a kind of umbrella, provided the height & coverage are right. Generally, the more an area is overgrown with different species, the better these abilities.
Sampling in the cities Darmstadt, Bamberg and Göttingen
This (or something like it) is what it can look like when a bee has a Bad Fur Day.
In fact, especially in spring and autumn, the nectar in flowers can ferment after a rainfall, which is quite dramatic for a bee. Not only can such alcohol poisoning last up to 48h, but many bees do not survive it. And even if they survive them, they will be expelled from their colonies, otherwise they would contaminate the honey.
What can you do for bees in this situation? Well, against seasons and carelessness of bees can not be helped.
As a preventive measure, a water trough on the balcony can prevent a bee from sipping from forbidden juices.
Perhaps it might also be worth covering your alcoholic drink with a lid. This protects both animal and beer from torment. 😉
January 2023
Mowing workshop:
Conference proceedings published
December 2021
3rd BioDivKultur Workshop
At our 3rd workshop we worked together with our practice partners on the concepts of their projects. Planned activities include exhibitions, a nature trail, events and flyers.
Mowing workshop: Mowing in an insect-friendly way - but how?
On the road with the ARD film team
What can municipalities and companies do for biodiversity on their land? Together with the ARD film team, we took a closer look at a study plot from the BioDivKultur project. You can watch our contribution on Friday (09.12.) from 19:30 in the program KlimaZeit on tagesschau24 and in the ARD Media Library.
1 Year BioDivKultur
Okober 2022
Biodiversity and Peace
In October, our two PhD students Johanna (Biology) and Sonja (Philosophy) participated in the ECSA conference on “Citizen Science for Planetary Health” in Berlin and presented a poster on “Biodiversity and Peace”. What these two things have in common, you can see here:
Action week 10-16 October
Attention biodiversity!
We took part in the nationwide action week “Attention biodiversity”! 2021 was launched by the BMBF Research Initiative for Biodiversity Conservation (FEdA) and the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. Organizers this year are FEdA and the Leibniz Natural History Museums – the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, the Senckenberg Museums in Frankfurt am Main, Görlitz & Dresden and the Leibniz Institute for Biodiversity Change Analysis in Bonn & Hamburg.
September
2022
Project meeting with first group photo
Our project meeting this time took place at the Jagdschloss Kranichstein. In joint discussions, we looked back on eventful months. At the same time, ideas and plans for the next interdisciplinary actions and events were already discussed.
Mowing workshop: Mowing in an insect-friendly way - but how?
We would like to thank all speakers for their great and interesting presentations. We would also like to thank the numerous participants for their interest in our workshop and the exciting discussions. The exchange was not least a great help for us to be able to dedicate ourselves to the topic of insect-friendly mowing with all its facets, hurdles, but also possibilities in the project. The discussions provided very important input for our further research and planned actions in the project.
Click here to find more impressions, photos, videos and soon the proceedings of the event:
Country market at the Jagdschloss Kranichstein
Interview with Project speaker Prof. Nico Blüthgen about BioDivKultur
BioDivKultur - "Diverse green spaces just don't look like manicured ornamental lawns".
Parks, greenbelts, and commercial green spaces can provide important habitat for a wide range of insect species. Different design decisions play an important role in this. The BioDivKultur research project is investigating how biodiversity can be given greater consideration in green space design. Professor Dr. Nico Blüthgen reports in an interview on the motivation and goals of the interdisciplinary project.
BioDivKultur experience stand at the environmental fair
August 2022
BioDivKultur chirps: We are now active on social media
You can also follow our project on social media! Through our channels, we post interesting information and provide insights into our work in the BioDivKultur project. Information about upcoming events and campaigns is also provided there.
Visit us! We are looking forward to seeing you.
July 2022
Visit to the InsectMow project
On 19.07. visited the project BioDivKultur the project InsectMow in Hohenheim. At the cooperation project InsectMow, scientists from the universities of Tübingen and Hohenheim are working on the development and evaluation of an insect- and spider-friendly disc mower. Special scouring devices are developed and tested once. These should scare the animals away in time so that they flee and do not come into contact with the mower. In addition, the mower is modified so that fewer animals are sucked into the mower and killed during mowing. In addition, the InsectMow project would like to develop a standardized test procedure and a label for insect- and spider-friendly mowers together with the DLG test center. In this way, the effectiveness of such mowing technology should be easier to test and also reward in the future.
We would like to thank the InsectMow project for the exciting insights and hospitality! We are very much looking forward to future cooperation and to our next meeting at the Mahdworkshop.
Project week on the topic of insect-friendly mowing
This year there was again a project week together with the Berthold-Brecht-School on the topic of insect-friendly mowing. The students learned about the background to species and insect extinction, what role mowing plays in this, and how scientists go about researching such issues. Like a real study, together with the students mowing observations on the school grounds were made, hypotheses were developed, sampling was carried out and these were subsequently evaluated.
June/July 2022
Sampling in the cities Darmstadt, Bamberg and Göttingen
Equipped with biocoenometers and suction cups, the biologists traveled to the cities Darmstadt, Bamberg and Göttingen to sample a total of 249 areas for their arthropod diversity. Study areas were parks, roadside vegetation, traffic verges, sheep pastures, mowing meadows and company grounds. The freezers are now full of samples and we are already busy sorting. In any case, we are already very excited about the results!
At this point, we would like to thank all the farmers, associations and companies, who supported us during the sampling! Like the Tennis club H.o.t. and GTC in Göttingen and the company Lambrecht meteo GmbH. A very warm thank you also goes to public offices of the cities for their support in planning and implementation.
June 2022
First overall project meeting in presence
On 22.06 the BioDivKultur project met in the premises of Lab3 to discuss the progress already made and the way forward. Thank you for the hospitality! https://www.lab3.org/ It was the first big project meeting in presence with a following dinner together.
Also present this time was DiNArDA e.V. https://www.dinarda.org/to talk about first common ideas for the integration of 3D insect models.
Excursion to Zwingenberg
Mowing experiments at Jagdschloss Kranichstein
Within the framework of a master’s thesis and a teacher’s thesis, the first mowing experiments were carried out at the Jagdschloss Kranichstein.
Through the mowing process itself, the mowing of meadows kills many insects or destroys their refuges and food resources. The mowing experiments were used to investigate different mowing devices and their mortality on arthropods. This involved mowing with beam mowers, power scythes, mulchers, and scythes on several experimental plots. By means of biocoenometers, one suction sample was taken before and one after mowing, and mown material was also collected. This will be used to determine how insect-friendly or -damaging which mowing equipment and processes are and what protective measures can be taken. In the meantime, the samples are in the laboratory are being evaluated. We are already very excited about the results!
May 2022
Herbaceous show 2022
On the day of biodiversity (22.05.) the nationwide herbaceous show took place andwe were there again!
This year we also set out to draw attention to the hidden plant diversity in Darmstadt.
With atotal of four groups, we labeled numerous plants in the city using chalk to draw attention to the “overlooked diversity”.
We would like to thank the many interested people, who actively supported us in the campaign this year!
The nationwide herbaceous show was coordinated this year by Julia Krohmer (Senckenberg). More information on the nationwide herbaceous show is available here:
Our first project trip
Project excursion to the traveling exhibition on insect protection at the Schatzinsel Kühkopf environmental education center
Babette & Lisette Darmstädter Echo
This comic was published in the Darmstädter Echo on 13.05.22. Drawn by Steffen Jobst.
March 2022
TU Darmstadt is looking for sampling areas
Support our research to preserve biodiversity!
The biologists of the Technical University of Darmstadt are looking for
Companies and farms with mowed grassland, meadows or field edges that would make them available for a survey.
The surveys are planned this year for June/July in Darmstadt, Bamberg and Göttingen and will involve a one-time walk-through of the site for approximately 1-2 hours. Both intensively mowed lawns and extensively mowed taller stands are examined.
You can find more information about the study here.
You want to support our research? Then please feel free to contact us:
Genevieve Walther
Technische Universität Darmstadt
E-mail: gwalther@bio.tu-darmstadt.de
Phone: 06151 16-20049
Lecture on the influence of mowing on arthropods
On 16.03.2022 the biologists of the BioDivKultur project gave a lecture on the influence of mowing on arthropods in grassland.
Insights into the current state of research showed what mowing practices exist and which impact they have on arthropods. Prospects for insect-friendly mowing concepts were also presented.
If you have any questions about the lecture or the literature presented, please contact the Biologists of the BioDivKultur project.
December 2021
Official launch of BIODIVKULTUR
On 01 December 2021, the BioDivKultur project could officially start!
September 2021
Podcast -
What motivates species protection (measures)?
In this podcast, young scientists from the departments of linguistics, political science and biology at the TU Darmstadt talk about perspectives and research results on the topic of species conservation.
Interview Alfred Nordmann
In this video, artist Rainer Lind interviews philosopher of technology Alfred Nordmann about how he came to the BioDivKultur project as a philosopher of science and technology and what research questions interest him in the project.
July 2021
Herbaceous show in Darmstadt
On the occasion of the nationwide Krautschau, the BioDivKultur project also paraded through Darmstadt together with students and committed conservationists. The aim of the campaign: draw attention to as many plant survival artists as possible that grow everywhere in the city between wall cracks and pavement joints and mark them with chalk. This is to draw attention to the diversity in the city and to increase the appreciation of herbs.
The video of the herbaceaus show was created in collaboration with the artist Rainer Lind.
Project week on the topic of insect-friendly mowing
Together with teachers from the Berthold-Brecht-Schule, the BioDivKultur project organized a course on insect-friendly mowing for a project week. Students learned about the background of species and insect extinction, the role of mowing, and how scientists work on such researching issues. As in a real study, together with the students, mowing observations on the school grounds were made, hypotheses were developed, sampling was carried out and then evaluated.
June 2021
Insect investigation in Darmstadt
Together with students from the Technical University Darmstadt, the first green spaces in and around Darmstadt were sampled for the BioDivKultur project. The areas were park lawns, roadside strips, insect-friendly flowering areas, sheep pastures, and wildlife grazing areas. Insects and arachnids were examined using a biocoenometer, an insect aspirator, as well as soil traps, ant baits, and soil samples. In addition to insects and arachnids, plant diversity on the plots was also studied. Through the different ways of cultivating the areas, knowledge about their influence on the flora and fauna there should be obtained.
The artist Rainer Lind accompanied us during the investigations at the Bürgerpark and shows in his short video how our area was sampled with the biocoenometer and the insect aspirator.
January 2021
Interview with Genevieve Walther
In this interview, Ms. Walther talks from an ecological perspectiveabout the problems and possible solutions, which will be investigated in the BioDivKultur project .
The BioDivKultur project is funded by the Research Initiative for Biodiversity Conservation of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
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