Excursion to the district of Forchheim, Upper Franconia 2016

From 12 to 17 June 2016, 20 students were on the road in the district of Forchheim, the southernmost district in Upper Franconia. The district of Forchheim belongs in large parts to the Franconian Switzerland Nature Park. Protected natural and centuries-old cultural landscapes with a multitude of springs and streams as well as castles, caves and rocks characterise the region. The "Fruit Growing Area Forchheim - Franconian Switzerland" is one of the largest closed sweet cherry growing areas in Germany.

The group was accommodated in the wooden and clay huts of the "Umweltstation Lias Grube" in Eggolsheim-Unterstürmig. The day tours started from there. The contact person on site, Johannes Mohr from the Forchheim District Office, had put together an extensive programme and was able to recruit numerous external speakers who accompanied the group across the district. Topics of the excursion included structural change in agriculture, fruit growing and water management and its effects on nature conservation, as well as forest conversion and the compatibility of nature conservation and tourism. The group had the rare opportunity to discover Bavaria's most endemic area under expert guidance and was able to gain insight into the diverse work of a lower nature conservation authority.

The excursion was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Christina von Haaren, Dr. Julia Wiehe, Sarah Matthies and Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras, all IUP. The excursion group would like to thank the District Office of Forchheim, especially District Administrator Dr Hermann Ulm and Mr Johannes Mohr, for the intensive preparation, the warm welcome and the organisation of the excursion.