Borussia Dortmund is working to promote greater plant and insect diversity in urban areas of Dortmund.
Together with the Parks Department of the city of Dortmund and the SIGNAL IDUNA Group, Borussia Dortmund are working to promote greater plant and insect diversity in urban areas of Dortmund. The next stage of the joint sustainability project has now been presented.
As part of the “Stadt.Nah.Tour” (City Nature Tour) project, the Parks Department of the city of Dortmund, the SIGNAL IDUNA Group and Borussia Dortmund are looking to promote more plant and insect diversity in urban areas. Biodiversity is the very basis of our existence. Animals and plants have important functions in the ecosystem on Earth. They provide food, active ingredients for medicines, help with recovery and play an important role in climate regulation. And right on our doorstep, there is a lot to discover and above all to protect.
With the “Stadt.Nah.Tour” (City Nature Tour) project, the three project partners want to draw attention to this important topic and create the opportunity to learn more about the interrelations between the living beings and plants in public in Dortmund. A wildflower meadow was opened in 2020, and in 2021, an educational nature trail has been added to the grounds surrounding the headquarters of the SIGNAL IDUNA Group. The tour leader is BVB mascot EMMA, who guides passers-by, kids and families as they go on a tour of discovery. The next step of the joint sustainability project was presented on 22 June 2022. “EMMAs Entdeckerrunde” (EMMA’s Journey of Discovery) – as the signs in the area’s educational signs call it – has now been enhanced to include an interactive rally for families and children. A class from the Sölde primary school put the rally to the test. In addition, children of BVB and SIGNAL IDUNA staff were invited to attend a bee-keeping lesson at the beehives on the site. Bee-keepers from Dortmund came to show off what exactly they do and how. Details about the rally will be published soon at https://www.bvb.de/Aktionen/Stadtnahtour. BVB are looking forward to adding extra competitions and promotions to the rally soon.
We are looking forward to continuing the successful cooperation in future. The new project Schmetterlingsspirale (Butterfly Spiral), a kind of raised bed with butterfly-friendly plants, is to be created in the middle of the flower meadow. The special feature of this is that the Butterfly Spiral is to be created out of historical stones of the Dortmund city wall, discovered during the excavations on the wall.
The City Nature Tour is Borussia Dortmund’s third ecological education project. BVB are committed to raising awareness of environmental protection and the consequences of climate change and, above all, to providing out-of-school education for children and young people.
