Field trip "Planetary health in the region"

Field trip for the "Planetary Health" sustainability week on 24 May 2024.

The guided field trip to the Rhön UNESCO biosphere reserve, which took place as part of the "Planetary Health" sustainability week programme, offered university members a unique opportunity to experience the Rhön UNESCO biosphere reserve up close. After the originally planned date of 26 April 2020 had to be postponed due to snowfall, interested employees and students of the university spent a whole afternoon on 24 May in the heart of the Rhön on the Wasserkuppe.

After travelling together by bus, the certified nature and landscape guide Wolfgang Kemmerzell welcomed the group to the Wasserkuppe. After getting to know each other briefly, they were given an initial insight into the history of the Wasserkuppe's utilisation and the formation of the unique Rhön landscape. The route then ran through the middle of the Rhön mountain meadows, where the participants learnt why and how they are protected through intensive regional collaboration and careful agricultural use. The meadows are an important part of the region's ecosystem, for example as a refuge for ground-nesting birds and a variety of native wild flowers and herbs. Finally, we went up to the source of the Fulda, the renaturalisation of which is also crucial for the regional ecosystem.

As a model region for sustainable development, the Rhön offers impressive examples of the integration of people and nature and demonstrates the complexity and importance of planetary health. We humans need nature - and not only because of the raw materials we use for our daily lives. Natural landscapes provide habitats for a variety of plants and animals that are also vital for our human survival. Protected areas such as the UNESCO Rhön biosphere reserve can make an important contribution to the conservation of endangered habitats and species. The Rhön also offers a wide range of other opportunities for the region: business, tourism and recreation.

Here you can find a report on the entire theme week on planetary health as well as on the Central University Administration course "Planetary Health and the contribution of the Fulda University of Applied Sciences".

The field trip was organised jointly by the Sustainability Office and the University's Sports Centre.