Report (2020) about the first eco-settlement in Saarland
Published
5:18 min, First broadcast: 11/19/2020, Available until 11/20/2021.
Wir im Saarland - The Magazine ∙ SR Television
"A quarter of a century ago, Bernd Janes looked for like-minded comrades-in-arms and founded an ecologically oriented housing estate on the outskirts of Kohlhof. At first, the new neighbors were eyed critically by the surrounding community. No wonder, because the houses were built in wood, four families shared one house and the gardens were not separated from each other by fences, but merged seamlessly into each other."
Environment Minister Heinen-Esser: "The protection of the starry night sky serves health, species and climate protection and enables fascinating nature experiences at night".
Schleiden-Gemünd / Nettersheim, 05.04.2019. Experiencing the starry sky at night with twinkling celestial bodies is a special experience for many people that is now only possible in a few places in Germany - one of these places is the Eifel National Park. Since 2010, a regional initiative has been successfully campaigning for the protection of the night sky and the preservation of the natural night landscape - in 2014, this was followed by the provisional designation as the first "International Dark Sky Park" in Germany. Now this initiative can look forward to the final recognition as International Star Park Eifel National Park. On the grounds of the observatory of the astronomy workshop "Stars without Borders" in the Eifel National Park, Dr. Andreas Hänel, highest representative of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) in Germany, presented the certificate of recognition to Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser and the head of the Eifel National Park Administration Dr. Michael Röös. The distinction of being a protected area of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a title that only a few regions worldwide can use to promote themselves, in Germany there are only four. For the Eifel National Park, which turned 15 this year, this recognition is a nice "birthday present".
The Eifel National Park is a refuge of undisturbed night skies and has been recognised as a star park since 2014. "Rarely does a topic offer so many win-win situations," said Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser when handing over the certificate. She emphasised the many benefits of protecting the starry night sky: "Dark nights have a positive effect on health, conserve resources and thus help to protect the climate. Darkness is important for many nocturnal animal species, especially insects. Artificial light at night can be a serious threat to them." For North Rhine-Westphalia, he said, the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as the only star park in the entire western half of Germany was an outstanding honour. "The final recognition of the Eifel National Park as a star park helps to raise the profile of our state as a nature destination as well," the state environment minister summed up.
The initiative goes back to the astronomer and lighting consultant Harald Bardenhagen from Cologne, who managed to convince the region of the value of the starry sky. Initially, Bardenhagen found enthusiastic comrades-in-arms in the administration of the Eifel National Park, the district administration of Euskirchen, the national park towns of Schleiden and Heimbach, and those responsible for the Vogelsang property. However, until the final recognition as a Dark Sky Park, further efforts on different levels were necessary: In the design of the outdoor lighting to reduce the artificial light in the National Park and the directly surrounding villages or in the development of tourist offers for stargazing for the general public. The North Eifel Nature Park, in which the Eifel National Park is embedded, has also been intensively involved in this process.
Dr. Michael Röös, Head of the Eifel National Park Authority, thanked Mr. Bardenhagen for his unprecedented commitment against light pollution and his dedication to protecting the night sky and making it possible to experience it. "With the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as an International Star Park, we have reached an important milestone with the region and at the same time taken a pioneering role in the protection of darkness in North Rhine-Westphalia."
"Together we will significantly expand this unique selling point", Manfred Poth, Chairman of the North Eifel Nature Park, was pleased to say. With the innovative project application "Under the Tent of Stars - Eifel by Night", the nature park was able to prevail in the "Nature Park Competition.2021.NRW" of the NRW Ministry of the Environment and, for the first time in its history, took first place. "With the associated 400,000 euros in funding, the protection of darkness through public relations work, through educational offers of sustainable development and tourist infrastructure projects in the Eifel will experience a significant further development," explained Poth. More than 40 project partners, including the Eifel National Park Authority, want to participate in the realisation.
The property developer WvM Immobilien + Projektentwicklung GmbH and the eco-energy supplier NATURSTROM AG found the joint company Green Estate. With the fusion of energy and real estate know-how, the partners are taking a new path to enable people to live sustainably.
The aim of the cooperation is to include decentralised, clean energy generation in future WvM building projects from the very beginning - and thus to optimally exploit the possibilities of a networked electricity, heating and e-mobility infrastructure. The Green Estate acts as an operating company through which WvM and NATURSTROM jointly invest in the building energy systems in the WvM properties. NATURSTROM will then take over the technical operation of the systems and the billing of energy consumption to the customers. "We have the vision of providing people with a sustainable supply of electricity and heat exclusively from renewable sources on site," explains NATURSTROM CEO Dr Tim Meyer. "With WvM, we have found a partner who pursues the same goals."
With the founding of Green Estate, NATURSTROM and WvM Immobilien are entering into the first cooperation of this kind. Such a far-reaching cooperation is absolutely exemplary, because in the course of a decentralised energy turnaround, more and more overlaps are emerging between the energy and real estate industries. The ecological capabilities of cities and urban centres are crucial for the future of the planet.
For each building project, the companies develop an individual energy concept in order to make the best possible use of the on-site generation potential and to align it with the respective demand. "Behind NATURSTROM are thoroughbred enthusiasts who live and breathe climate protection and with whom we are happy to cooperate for this reason, among others," says Raphael Hüffelmann, Head of Construction Project Management at WvM, explaining the cooperation.
The planning for the first two construction projects in Cologne and Berlin has already been completed, and further projects are in the planning stage - including the residential quarter in Subbelrather Straße in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, for which WvM and NATURSTROM are currently developing an innovative climate-friendly energy concept for sustainable living.
WvM Immobilien + Projektentwicklung was founded in 1992 by Wolfgang von Moers and is Cologne's largest owner-managed property developer for residential real estate. We currently employ more than 120 people; in addition to civil engineers and architects, we also have real estate agents, marketing and sales specialists. The range of services covers the entire value chain from purchasing to development/realisation to the sale and management of the properties. Since June 2017, we have been represented with a location in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
The city of Eschweiler (North Rhine-Westphalia) has been awarded the climate protection prize "Klimaaktive Kommune 2019″ by the Federal Environment Ministry in category 1: "Resource and energy efficiency in the municipality". The city of Eschweiler is committed to more resource and climate protection with its Factor X construction areas.
Film about the Faktor X housing estate in Eschweiler:
(6:25 min.) published on Nov 5, 2019
The prize is awarded by the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) as part of the National Climate Initiative (NKI), which is implemented by the German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbh (DIFU).
More information about the climate protection award "Climate Active Community 2019″ is available on the website of the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Government : www.klimaschutz.de/stadt-eschweiler
A study funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture determined the potential of hardwood as a substitute for coniferous wood. The results of the study are now available in a brochure published by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e. V. (FNR). There is considerable potential for hardwood to be used in industrial timber, but it cannot yet be a substitute for softwood in construction.
Already today, almost twice as much hardwood is provided in Germany as 20 years ago. Beech and oak are the dominant deciduous tree species with a share of 70 %. In wood use, there is considerable potential for using the accumulating hardwood industrial wood as a material. These potentials for low-priced wood assortments lie in particular in the production of wood-based materials such as chipboard or fibreboard. Higher-quality hardwood assortments are suitable, among other things, for windows and exterior doors, solid parquet flooring, interior fittings, solid wood panels and in exterior applications.
Potentials in wood-based materials and interior design
However, the study also makes clear that hardwood can only replace softwood to a limited extent. The timber industry with the key use of building with wood is dependent on softwood. The available hardwood cannot substitute softwood in comparable quantities for technical and economic reasons. The large number of species in hardwood with their widely differing properties makes standardisation difficult. Moreover, processing is usually technically more complex and causes higher costs.
More courage and innovation needed
In order to further develop the potential of hardwood use, the authors recommend, among other things, that companies be more courageous and innovative in establishing and expanding manufacturing processes specialized in hardwood use. In addition, sales-promoting industry communication and marketing for domestic hardwood are crucial for buyer behaviour.
The brochure "Hardwood product markets from a technical-economic and market structure perspective" is available in the Media Libraryavailable.
Background:
A conversion of forests towards more deciduous forests has been taking place in Germany since the 1990s. In particular, beech and oak trees are being planted in the spruce or pine forests. This is intended to make the forests not only more natural but also more stable against external influences such as storms and drought as well as climate change. As a result of the forest conversion, more hardwood will be available as a renewable raw material in the future.
The brochure is based on the BMEL-funded research project "Market potentials of hardwood products from a technical-economic and market-structural point of view - hardwood product markets" by PD Dr. Marcus Knauf, Bielefeld, with the assistance of Prof. Dr. Arno Frühwald, Reinbek.
The research project identified market potentials for products made of hardwood. Product areas in which hardwood is competitive with softwood or can complement softwood were analysed. The analyses were based on official statistics, published market studies, literature, the authors' own experience and interviews with experts. The final report is available at fnr.de under the funding code 22023214 available.
The FNR has been active as a project management agency of the BMEL for the funding programme Renewable Resources since 1993. It also supports research topics in the fields of sustainable forestry and innovative wood use.
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