With the Biodiversity Action Plan 2030, the City of Bonn is currently setting an important course for the local preservation and promotion of biodiversity. In this way, like many municipalities worldwide with their own strategies, it is contributing to the success of the Action Plan for Cities and Regions adopted at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference.
As a member of the Cities Network ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the Global Local and Subnational Level Action Alliance for Biodiversity, Bonn has successfully campaigned since 2008 for cities and regions to be actively involved in the global biodiversity debate and strategy. Mayor Katja Dörner is a member of the Advisory Council of Cities to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Action weekend on May 20 and 21
Already on Saturday, May 20, 2023, the House of Nature on the Waldau organizes the action day "Biodiversity - In the forest and at home" between 10 am and 6 pm. Young and old are invited to experience biodiversity in the local forest and tropical forest with readings, craft activities and workshops. With the exhibition "Consumption and Rainforest - Rainforest in the Shopping Cart" of the tropical forest foundation "OroVerde", they will also learn how they can protect biodiversity when shopping and on their own doorstep. More information is available at haus-der-natur.bonn.de (opens in a new tab).
On Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a traditional central day of action on biodiversity in the Botanical Gardens of the University of Bonn. Many actors, from international organizations to scientific institutions to local conservation initiatives, will present their work and ideas for species conservation in their own environment. The City of Bonn's Department of the Environment and City Greenspace will also be present with a stand on native animal and plant species, this time presenting the garden dormouse and the swift, and taking a closer look at the biodiversity of the forest floor. Children can discover who all is crawling, creeping and hopping in the soil and making sure that the autumn leaves are transformed into nutrient-rich soil.
VHS event series "Biological Diversity in the City"
In addition to the action weekend, the Department of Environment and Urban Greening, in cooperation with the Adult Education Center, offers the series "Biological Diversity in the City" throughout the year with interesting (online) lectures and excursions, such as an ecological walk in the Poppelsdorf cemetery or a woodland hike in the Waldau. Many educational offers of the House of Nature can also be booked in cooperation with the Adult Education Center.
Further information can be found at www.vhs-bonn.de (opens in a new tab).
Experience blooming habitats
Biodiversity can be experienced everywhere in Bonn. For example, the city actively implements the topic of biodiversity in almost all of its cemeteries. As recently as March, NABU NRW awarded the southern cemetery the title of "butterfly-friendly cemetery." Around 5,000 square meters of unused lawn were transformed into species-rich flowering meadows. Complemented by reading stone piles, sand areas and deadwood areas, this has created habitats for butterflies and moths, but also for numerous other insect species such as amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals. As a result, the naturally landscaped southern cemetery has become a popular place for excursions.
In addition, the City of Bonn is increasingly emphasizing mixed perennial plantings. With a period from early spring to the first frost, they have a long blooming period and are equally attractive to insects and people. They can be admired on the banks of the Rhine and soon elsewhere, such as on Endenicher Allee. Designed for sunny locations, the perennials are now to grow in shaded areas under trees as well. To this end, the City of Bonn has specially developed an insect-friendly perennial mix that can withstand drought, shade and root pressure. It has already been used at Hochstadenring.
More information on the perennial beds can be found at www.bonn.de/staudenbeete (opens in a new tab).
Even the youngest children can contribute to biodiversity with the KiTa project "Blossoms for insects" (opens in a new tab). They can plant their own plants and experience how a flower bed becomes a popular meeting place for insects.
The label for diversity: Near-natural urban green spaces
The Department of Environment and Urban Greening is continuously working on improving biodiversity and closeness to nature on urban green spaces. For its commitment to attractive habitats for people and nature, the City of Bonn achieved the silver standard in the nationwide labeling process "StadtGrün naturnah" in 2019. The next certification is due this year.
In addition to the meadow program, insect-friendly mixed perennial plantings or the Bonn open space concept, there are also new approaches, such as the greening of tree grates. Areas under old trees that were previously only used as parking spaces offer themselves as food sources and stepping stone biotopes for inner-city networking, especially for insects, small animals and plants. Following a successful trial run in Heussallee, a seed mixture of native herbs is now being developed on trial plots and used in the Bonn urban area.
Greening of buildings and unsealing - for biodiversity, climate and soil
Greening of buildings and unsealing of surfaces are important building blocks for climate adaptation and preparedness. The green facades not only look beautiful, but they also help to counteract the negative consequences of the climate crisis, such as increasing periods of heat and heavy rainfall events. In addition, they create habitats for butterflies, wild bees and other insects. With its greening program, the City of Bonn supports private and commercial greening projects such as unsealing and offers ongoing advice: www.bonn.de/begruenung (opens in a new tab).
Anyone who is also currently thinking about redesigning their own front garden can get ideas for turning it into a habitat for animals and plants as well as a real recreational and adventure space: bonn.de/themen-entdecken/umwelt-natur/vorgaerten.php (opens in a new tab).
Organic produce on the plate
Bonn became a "BioCity" in 2019. Together with other municipalities, Bonn has set itself the goal of increasing organic shares, especially in the communal catering of municipal facilities, and promoting the ecological and sustainable management of agriculturally used land owned by the city. In addition, the city networks institutions, especially schools and daycare centers, with local actors, for example with solidarity farms from the surrounding area.
With its range of information and events, the BioCity of Bonn helps to create awareness for sustainable agriculture and food and to show good examples of better consumer behavior, for example through the sustainability festival " Bonn-Rundum nachhaltig" in September:
www.bonn.de/themen-entdecken/umwelt-natur/biostadt.php (opens in a new tab).
Further information on biodiversity in Bonn is available on the websites of the City of Bonn, the Haus der Natur and the Biological Station Bonn-Rhein/Erft.