Red oaks in October
Quercus rubus
Red oaks are a robust species of oak, originally from North America. They are particularly tolerant of drought and are capable of surviving the sandy soils of Brandenburg. They provide a good habitat for the insects and mammals as well as providing commercially valuable wood.
Pupils and staff of the Schiller Gymnasium, together with members of the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (SDW) and members of the Rotaract club, planted 1,600 red oaks near Basdorf on the 24th of October 2020. This project was initiated and generously financed by the Rotary Club in Berlin.
Despite the difficulties presented by the coronavirus epidemic, thanks to a well thought out hygiene plan with masks and social distancing, the tree planting was a complete success.
- increase foliage cover
- increase humus
- reduce water loss
- increase bio-diversity
Saplings in November
On the 21st of November, 2021 a group of students accompanied by Dr. Baker set off to plant trees in Alt Golm in Brandenburg in cooperation with the Rotary Club Berlin branch. After a bus journey of one and a half hours we arrived at our destination – a wood, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Luckily it only rained a little. After being welcomed, we were brought to a small campfire next to a field. There, representatives from the Rotary Club and the August Bier foundation held speeches about the importance of biodiversity for forests, which is why it is important to plant lots of different varieties. Today, we planted Black Walnut, Lime trees and Hornbeam. The previous time we planted red oak in Basdorf.
We worked in groups of three – one person marked the places, the next dug the hole, the third planted a tree. We switched role regularly. Jumping on the spades to dig holes was fun. It was an amazing feeling to pull gently on a newly planted tree to see if it was plnated correctly, especially if it stayed put and you didn’t need to replant it…
We were very fast and organised and manged to plant hundreds of trees together. By one pm we were done and very exhausted. We got delicious warm soup, bread, tea, coffee and water and warmed up by the fire.
A big thank you to the Rotary Club and August Bier foundation for organising and funding this event. I really think we could make a difference and take a small step towards a more sustainable forest and environment.
planET strikes back 