CULT Events

The viSiOONWALD event series has its origins in 2019 when KULT organized the Frankfurt Forest Congress together with the City of Frankfurt am Main. Subsequent events were then held in cooperation with Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz, the Bundesverband Beruflicher Naturschutz (BBN), the Regionalbündnis Soonwald-Nahe and the Kompetenzzentrum Kulturlandschaft der Hochschule Geisenheim University. The viSiOONWALD brings together actors from various research disciplines and practice. The focus is on transdisciplinary exchange and knowledge transfer.

•     viSiOONWALD - Soonwald Days on Landscape Development - On knowledge and action in the climate crisis - a search for solutions at a societal level (29.04.-01.05.2024)

How does society move from knowledge to urgently needed action in the climate crisis? From 29.04. to 01.05.2024, the "Soonwald Days on Landscape Development" took place again, which were dedicated to this urgent key question. Claudia Jörg, from the Fortbildungsakademie der Wirtschaft gGmbH, who moderated the event with 90 participants, summed it up: "Above all, getting people involved and focusing on communication are key.

viSiOONWALD 2024 (hs-geisenheim.de)

4th VISIOONWALD CONFERENCE DISCUSSES STRATEGIES AND SOLUTIONS IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS (hs-geisenheim.de)

•     Workshop "viSiOONWALD" - Agenda Water Retention" (May 02 & 03, 2023)

Forests are drying out due to a lack of water, spruce trees are almost completely disappearing from many forests within a few years. It is clear to scientists and practitioners that the landscape must store rainwater like a sponge in the future so that forests have a chance of being preserved over large areas. And this cannot be the sole task of forestry, but requires an integrative overall concept: agriculture, nature conservation and local authorities must also work together on this. This became clear at the conference in the Soonwald forest experience center.

Report_viSiOONWALD_2023.docx (hs-geisenheim.de)

•     Are we digging up the water in the forest? Challenges and solutions for a sustainable approach to forest hydrology (May 5 & 6, 2022)

On Thursday, 5 May 2022, in Seibersbach at the symposium "Are we digging up the water in the forest?", which was organized by Hochschule Geisenheim University and Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz together with the Bundesverband Beruflicher Naturschutz and the Soonwald-Nahe regional alliance, municipalities, agriculture, research and forest development discussed possible solutions. The preservation of a healthy forest, the avoidance of monocultures and water retention in the soil are of great importance.  The next day, there was an excursion to the Soonwald forest to visit places where the consequences of flooding and drought as well as adaptation strategies are impressively demonstrated.

https://www.hs-geisenheim.de/forschung/institute/la

•     Time for a new sustainability - challenges and options for action for Central European forests in times of climate change (9.7.2021)

The content of the event builds on the Frankfurt Forest Congress, which was organized in November 2019 by the Competence Center Cultural Landscape together with the City of Frankfurt am Main. It took place as an online event in cooperation between the Rhineland-Palatinate State Forestry, the Federal Association for Professional Nature Conservation (BBN), the Soonwald-Nahe Regional Alliance and the Competence Center for Cultural Landscapes at Geisenheim University.

https://veranstaltungen.hs-geisenheim.de/uploads/events/attachments/E-Flyer_ZfenN_2021.pdf

https://idw-online.de/de/news7655

•  Frankfurt Forest Congress in cooperation with the 2nd Geisenheim Landscape Forum Our forest under climate stress - How to save forests in urban and rural areas (25.11.2019)

200 people took part in the event at the Green Space Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main. It became clear that the ecosystem services provided by forests must be comprehensively assessed, as forests, especially urban forests like Frankfurt's, perform many tasks as habitats, recreational and leisure areas and, in particular, as CO2 reservoirs. The multifunctionality of forest ecosystems must be promoted, protected and shaped.

The future of the forest: mixed cultures, natural regeneration and only limited exotics (hs-geisenheim.de)

Since 2019, the Cultural Landscape Competence Centre at Hochschule Geisenheim University, the Rhineland-Palatinate State Mobility Agency and Hessen Mobil - Road and Traffic Management have been jointly organizing the "Road and Landscape" event series. It has always taken place at Hochschule Geisenheim University.

•     6th Road and Landscape - Expansion of cycling infrastructure in the field of tension with environmental protection and nature conservation (07.03.2024)

The 6th event in the "Road and Landscape" series focused on the central challenges of future cycling in urban and rural areas. The focus was on sustainable planning and how conflicts of objectives between cycling planning and nature conservation can be addressed. More than 150 people took part in the hybrid event. Presentations and discussions focused on standards and model solutions in cycle path construction, the lack of alternatives to asphalt, local infiltration in the surrounding area, forestry law issues such as the duty to maintain road safety, land conservation tasks, sustainability assessment for cycle path alternatives, compliance with the Habitats Directive for protected habitat types and the disturbance of bats, which require special protection under the Habitats Directive, by cycle path lighting.

Flyer Bicycle and Landscape 2024 (hs-geisenheim.de) & A cycling network for the mobility transition - it won't work without compromises (hs-geisenheim.de)

•     5th Road and Landscape Symposium - Off the beaten track - Woody plants and greenery in the construction and maintenance of roads (17.09.2019)

The 5th symposium "Road and Landscape" dealt with the diversity of nature conservation and legal issues in the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of roads. It provided an insight into current developments and facilitated an exchange of ideas.

https://veranstaltungen.hs-geisenheim.de/uploads/events/attachments/Tagungsprogramm_Stra%C3%9Fe%20und%20Landschaft%202019.pdf

Another important series of events is "From the Mediterranean to the Middle Rhine - cultural heritage in a changing climate", organized by the Competence Center Cultural Landscape and the Rheinischer Verein in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate Directorate General for Cultural Heritage and the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Association. The 2023 kick-off event served to launch an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary discussion process that will now be continued on a regular basis.

•     From the Mediterranean to the Middle Rhine - climate adaptation in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site (26.06.2023) Expert discussions

The key question of what an integrative overall concept for climate adaptation for the Middle Rhine Valley could look like, which also comprehensively incorporates monument conservation concerns, was discussed and debated with over 80 participants on 26.06.2023 at the "Museum am Strom" in Bingen. It became clear that there are no simple model solutions for as many challenges as possible at the same time. Only by adopting a multi-stakeholder approach will jointly developed solutions and implemented climate change adaptation measures lead to the goal. The involvement of all stakeholders relevant to a transformation process from specialist institutions, politics, civil society, the private sector and science is necessary.

https://www.hs-geisenheim.de/praxis/kompetenzzentrum-kulturlandschaft-kult/n/kulturlandschaft-des-oberen-mittelrheintals-im-klimawandel-erfolgreiche-konferenz-im-museum-am-stro/

•     From the Mediterranean to the Middle Rhine Focus on climate change - cultural heritage in heat shock (24.06.2024)

The event focused on the increasing challenges posed by climate change, particularly heat, to cultural heritage. It was noted that there is a lack of holistic approaches to the environment and cultural landscapes, which is why the event aimed to bring together stakeholders from different sectors to develop joint solutions. In a panel discussion, the importance of UNESCO World Heritage status and the challenges of climate adaptation in large cultural landscapes were discussed. The event underlined the need for interdisciplinary cooperation and innovative measures to protect cultural heritage from the effects of climate change. The exchange of knowledge and the involvement of the public are crucial in order to develop sustainable and effective solutions.

Focus on climate change: Cultural heritage in heat shock (rlp.de)

•     FIRST GEISENHEIM LANDSCAPE FORUM "A look at the cultural landscape in 2030 - landscapes under pressure to change" 13.12.2018

One of the first official KULT events took place on December 13, 2018 on the topic of "Looking at the cultural landscape in 2030 - landscapes under pressure to change". Around 80 participants listened to presentations and discussed competition for land, heritage landscapes, the European Landscape Convention, the historical dimension of the landscape and the formation of a government in the context of insect mortality.

www.hs-geisenheim.de/hochschule/mitteilungen-veranstaltungen-termine/nachrichten/archiv/detail/n/erstes-landschaftsforum-geisenheim/

•     Building outdoors and preserving the cultural landscape - an insurmountable contradiction? (21.10.2019)

The joint event "Building outdoors and preserving the cultural landscape - an insurmountable contradiction?" by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Competence Center Cultural Landscape took place at Hochschule Geisenheim University. The event highlighted the challenges of building in outdoor areas and protecting the cultural landscape. It is important to find a balance between development and conservation in order to preserve the landscape and ecological values.

A4_invitation_Geisenheim_building_outdoors..._21.10.pdf (hs-geisenheim.de)

•     Between Rhine and Taunus - Cultural heritage in a biosphere region? (13.12.2019)

On December 13, 2019, the information event on cultural heritage in a biosphere region between the Rhine and Taunus was held by hessenARCHÄOLOGIE with the participation of KULT and the community foundation "Unser Land! Rheingau and Taunus" took place. The idea for a biosphere region in the Rheingau-Taunus district, the city of Wiesbaden and the Main-Taunus district has been around since 2018. The biosphere region should grow from its history as a "model region for sustainable development".

•     Cultural landscapes in the Rheingau and Taunus - workshop for sustainable landscape development (20.05.2020)

Together with the community foundation "Unser Land! Rheingau and Taunus", the Competence Center Cultural Landscape initiated a process for regionally sustainable landscape development at the workshop. The characteristics of the Rheingau and Taunus were discussed and the potential for sustainable development of the landscape was identified.

PowerPoint presentation (hs-geisenheim.de)

•      3rd network meeting KULT - Strategies for sustainable landscape change in grassland (07.02.2020)

In February 2020, the 3rd KULT network meeting took place with the aim of discussing strategies on how the multifunctionality of grassland can be developed sustainably in the future. The current problems of landscape development are well known among experts and approaches for solutions have also been discussed many times. However, what is missing above all is the concerted implementation of knowledge into concrete action, in particular

The symposium "Open dry sites: Preserving biodiversity hotspots" took place as a cooperative event between the city of Ingelheim am Rhein and the Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences Competence Center and worked out what challenges exist when grazing open dry sites on sand and limestone and which grazing regimes are particularly suitable for keeping them open. Ingelheim is located in the middle of the Mainz-Ingelheim calcareous sand area as part of the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas and is therefore very interested in the topic. Structurally rich dry sites are highly endangered by afforestation, intensification of use and abandonment of maintenance in Central Europe, but through properly managed, extensive grazing, woody plants can be pushed back and a small-scale structural diversity can be created, which can lead to an increase in biodiversity.

Poster Grazing online (002).pdf (hs-geisenheim.de)

Innovative grazing concepts for nature and cultural landscape conservation (idw-online.de)

The Arbeitskreis für historische Kulturlandschaftsforschung in Mitteleuropa e.V. (ARKUM), the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen - hessenARCHÄOLOGIE, the Landschaftsverband Rheinland and the Kompetenzzentrum Kulturlandschaft (KULT) of Hochschule Geisenheim University focused on the historical development of the cultivation of special crops, their heritage and key challenges for the future at a joint conference in Wiesbaden.

49. Internationale ARKUM Tagung | denkmal.hessen.de

ARKUM_Programm_LfDH 2023.docx (hs-geisenheim.de)