Nature and species
Species conservation, habitats and the diversity on our doorstep.
City plant of the year 2025 – the Broad-leaved Stendelwort
Cities are not today known as the preferred habitat for plants. And yet, they are here on every step and turn. Wherever there is a little soil between paving stones, on walls, on tree trunks, under hedges and on rails, they are – the ones that are often overlooked –…
→Large mushrooms – amazing inhabitants of forests, fields, and cities
Mushrooms are organisms that are neither animals nor plants; they form their own kingdom within biology. They metabolize, but do not have the ability to photosynthesize, and instead obtain their food mainly from plant remains or plants with which they form a symbiotic relationship (mycorrhiza), or by parasitizing them, which…
6 min read
→Sea Urchins in Need – Sani Resort helps as a breeding station
Sea urchin population in human hands – Cooperation between marine conservation and tourism destination – Local fishermen rescue sea urchin eggs – raised and released in the “hatchery tank”
5 min read
The moss of 2025: The felted haikers
It has to be very wet to wet when the felt -like haircutable (Trichocolea Tomentella), one of the most beautiful domestic liver moss, is to feel comfortable. And so it is at home wherever rich rainfall goes, which, above all, related to Germany, is the case in the Alps and…
→News from the bearded vulture
Two male bearded vultures released into the wild in Berchtesgaden National Park - ‘Wiggerl’ and ‘Vinzenz’ to conquer the Alps
6 min read
→Mushroom of the year: the crested toadstool
Every year since 1994, the German Society for Mycology (DGfM) has chosen one of the more than 10,000 large fungi native to Europe as Mushroom of the Year. On the one hand, this election is of course about the species itself, on the other hand, each “mushroom of the year”…
5 min read
Orchid of the year: the mosquito orchid
The mosquito orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) was named "Orchid of the Year 2024" by the executive committee of the Working Group of Native Orchids (AHO). The perennial herbaceous plant grows up to 80 centimetres high. The plant was given its double name because of its mosquito-like flowers and the hand-shaped divided…
→The tree of the year: the real rowan
At the end of 2023, this year's Tree of the Year was chosen by the "Tree of the Year - Dr Silvius Wodarz Foundation" and its advisory board, the "Tree of the Year Board of Trustees" (KBJ). The choice fell on the common service tree (Sorbus aria). Despite its relatively…
6 min read
→Bird of the year: The lapwing
Almost 120,000 people took part in the fourth public vote organised by NABU, the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, and its Bavarian partner, the Bavarian Association for Bird and Nature Conservation (LBV). The lapwing received the most votes with 33,289 (27.8 per cent). It was followed by the little…
2 min read