We're resurrecting a dying forest

Introduction

The Harz is one of the biggest forests in Germany, known for its extensive spruce tree cover and habitat home to an abundance of wild animals, plants and insects that have found refuge from the modern world in the vast protected woodlands of the Harz National Park. Sadly, climate change brought unprecedented heat waves to the area. Following a historic drought in 2018, 80% of tree cover died within three years, turning this once iconic landscape into a deadwood graveyard.

The Mission

In our third mission we partnered with Harz National Park to turn things around and help transform this stressed ecosystem into a strong and climate resilient forest. With the help of our community we planted a total of 5,000 deciduous trees between the deadwood to ensure the new sprouting forest was future proof.

This rewilding strategy helps the Harz fight back against climate change, propagating a diverse mix of seeds deep into the forest floor over the coming years and rebuilding the ecosystem over time.

Mission Video

Debrief

Our Partner

Dr Friedhard Knolle

Harz National Park

Dr Knolle has worked in the Harz forest for 30 years, helping to create the national park we have today. Thanks to Dr Knolle and a committed group of conservationists, the area is now protected. To plant the trees, the park enlisted over 100 volunteers who worked alongside us to replant this forest one tree at a time — despite the rain and chilly temperatures. Each sapling takes us one step closer to our goal of bringing this vibrant ecosystem back to life.

Links