Squirrel Forest Campaign in Bad König

In Bad König’s town forest a Squirrel Forest Campaign event took place in great style! The children collected acorns and beech nuts to plant in the gaps in the coniferous stands which had been damaged by beetles. Campaign guide and forest educator Jürgen Maul has sent us the following impressive report:

Off we go

Excited chatter from a distance heralds the approach of classes A,B and C from Bad König primary school as they make their way to where forest officer Uli Weiß and forest educator Jürgen Maul (both from the Forestry Office Michelstadt) are waiting for them. The children are equipped with spades, hoes, buckets and bags for a very special mission. Bad König’s town forest is to be reforested in the places where beetles have damaged the conifers. The first thing to do is to collect acorns and beech nuts.

How does a forest work?

The foresters welcome the children and explain how forests are created. They show them the squirrel game and how the heavy seeds, for example from oak trees, beech trees, nut or fruit trees travel to places far away from the mother tree and in this way a tree or a forest can spread further. Of course the children want to see for themselves and eagerly search among the beech trees and conifers for oak trees scattered here and there - mighty, upright oaks with trunks so big that it takes 5 children to encircle them. But where have all the acorns gone which the trees have produced so abundantly this year? The foresters help with the search and finally everyone finds ample acorn mast hidden away under a thick layer of autumn leaves. In no time the little buckets and bags are filled with acorns and beech nuts, there are even a few walnuts.

Next stage in a covered wagon

To everyone’s surprise a tractor pulling a covered wagon has arrived and the children ride in great style through the forest. Refreshed they arrive at the site where the bark and wood boring beetles have left gaps in the coniferous stands and where a new generation of trees will be sown. Now it is up to the children to do the work of the squirrels and jays. Foresters Weiß and Maul show them how to plant the acorns. The children clear the ground with their little spades and busily spread out the seeds on the top soil before covering them up again with mulch and grass, just like where they found them. When all the buckets and bags are empty and the seeds safely in the ground there is still enough time left to explore..

Lots of discoveries, lots of questions

The forest has plenty of treasures for the girls and boys to discover – pieces of bark with beetle borings, brightly coloured fungi and lichen on dead branches, holes in root stocks and so on. The finds are examined by everyone and both foresters are only too pleased to pass on their knowledge and answer questions.

The end of an exciting trip

A successful day in the forest is, of course, not over before sausages have been grilled over an open fire. Our tractor driver, Mr Siegbert Frindt, and his family have taken on the task today and the children (not forgetting parents, teachers and our foresters) tuck into a lavish barbecue. Finally, to mark the end of an excellent morning the foresters thank the children by presenting each of them with a little storybook about the forest.

Promising to come back next summer to see the new forest, the children set off again in the covered wagon, Their excited chatter gradually becoming fainter in the distance until quiet descends once more on the forest, which will soon be all the richer for some oak, beech and nut trees.

Well, there is nothing one could add to that, except to say a big thank you for a really great Squirrel Forest Campaign event and a super report, We can’t wait either to see what the children find on their next visit to the forest!