Squirrel Forest Campaign in Altenholz

Just like last year campaign guide Susanne Simpson together with regional forester Oeltzen and all the pupils of the Altenholz-Stift school were out in the Stifter Forest putting in a superb effort to make new woods! Again all participants, big and small, thoroughly enjoyed the Squirrel Forest Campaign event. Here’s Susanne’s report:

Ha-la-li!

A resounding Ha-la-li greeted the pupils and teachers of the Altenholz-Stift primary school to this year’s Squirrel Forest Campaign event. For forester Klaus Uhde from Kinderwald Kiel e.V. had not only brought along a horn, but also two other foresters. Together with regional forester Wilhelm Oeltzen they provided us with a really big panel of experts to answer all our questions to do with trees, forests and seeds.

Lots of questions, lots of seeds

And the boys and girls did have lots of questions: ”Is it an oak?” and “How deep do we sow the seeds?” were just a couple of them. The rain in Altenholz did little to dampen the children’s spirits. We found a lot of round, plump acorns – all still quite bright and fresh – the previous day’s storm having helped to shake plenty of acorns off the trees. There were also masses of beech nuts, best quality – one girl offered me some shelled as a treat.

Sowing and discoveries

If there are lots of tree seeds to collect, then there are lots to sow! That was also quite different from last year. We made a more conscious effort choosing the new oak and beech sites and admiring the year old saplings which had sprung up. Equally exciting were the many frogs which we came across in the Stifter Forest. The discovery of a deer skull was particularly exciting and it was the focus of a lot of attention when it later did the rounds on the forest sofa.

It was just great. With a rendering of autumn songs we bade the forest farewell and looked forward to further visits! And that is not an empty promise; our headteachers have put the annual Squirrel Forest Campaign firmly on the school events calendar. This means that the pupils of Altenholz-Stift can get to know and love “their” forest all through the four years at primary school. A wonderful idea!

Photos: Kinderwald Kiel