Future Guides Learn Climate Care in Rhön's Ancient Forests

Discover the Rhön's ancient forests. Learn how climate change threatens these treasures and how future guides will protect them.

, and Administrator

2025 October 8 . 5:01 AM

1 min read

In the image there are many trees in the background on the grassland, on right side there are trees... — In the image there are many trees in the background on the grassland, on right side there are trees shedding leaves on the land.

Future Guides Learn Climate Care in Rhön's Ancient Forests

Future nature and landscape guides in the Rhön gained insights into climate change impacts and forest care during a recent excursion to the Ibengarten, a core zone of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The training course, 'Certified Nature and Landscape Guides' (ZNL), aims to equip participants with knowledge to engage as ambassadors of the reserve's natural and cultural treasures.

The Ibengarten, a nature reserve since 1938, is home to approximately 500 yew trees, some over 800 years old. The excursion focused on the protection of these ancient trees and practical aspects of forest care and development. Participants learned about the threats posed by climate change, particularly to moisture- and cold-loving plants and animals in the Rhön.

The event, 'Climate Change in the Rhön', featured a lecture by Ulrike Schade, head of the Thuringian administrative office of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön. The training course, consisting of 115 teaching units, covers topics such as nature conservation, climate change, forest development, and guiding didactics. The excursion demonstrated how climate-stable mixed forests are created and developed by Thuringian Forestry, maintaining diversity of rare animal and plant species. The forestry administration implements climate-resilient mixed forest management through sustainable practices like selective logging, targeted planting, and habitat protection, enhancing biodiversity and ecological stability.

Upon completion of the course, graduates will be able to design tourist and educational tours in the Rhön, presenting the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve as a living home. They will be equipped to convey the impacts of climate change and the importance of sustainable forest management, serving as ambassadors of the Rhön's natural and cultural heritage.