The Agroforestry Summer Week 2025 offered both students and interested citizens the opportunity to delve deeper into the concept of agroforestry with practical insights and a wide range of opportunities for exchange.
The Agroforestry Summer Week got off to a fruity start at Obsthof Rönn in Meckenheim and at Solawi Alfter in the Rhein-Sieg district, where a student excursion, accompanied by lecturers from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (HSRW), focussed on the cultivation of fruit and nuts. Over the course of the week, students also had the opportunity to take part in an excursion to the tree nursery ‘Baum & Bonheur’ in Nettetal. The aim of the visit was to gain an insight into the work processes of a tree nursery, to tour part of the 660-hectare open-air site and to find out about current research projects being carried out in collaboration with the Dutch company Compas Agro. This excursion was organised by our Agroforestry Living Laboratory and the research focus Sustainable Food Systems of the HSRW, the Interreg project Agropole Innovates, represented by Agrobusiness Niederrhein e.V. and Brightlands Campus & Vastgoed Greenport Venlo.
Science and Kleve residents meet at the Science Bench
The two professors Dr habil. Jens Gebauer and Dr Florian Wichern took a seat on the Science Bench below the B.C. Koekkoek House in Kleve to engage in dialogue with members of the public. From the astonished ‘The university is beekeeping?’ to answering tricky questions in the quiz on the 17 sustainability goals to questions about the fruit tree arboretum in the Forstgarten, interesting encounters occurred in this format offered for the first time.
Students combine teaching and practice on Alleen 3
The agroforestry demonstration area Alleen 3 in the Kleve Galleien, which was planted in January of this year, became a practical application for students in the fourth semester of the Bachelor’s degree programme ‘Sustainable Agriculture’. They were not only able to use their previously acquired plant knowledge to match the original planting plan with the actual planting. For research purposes, they documented the effectiveness of the browsing protection measures taken as well as clear browsing damage to the plants caused by roe deer.
Agroforestry with laying hens in the Düffelt
Marie-Thres Nissing and Godehard Schnütgen from the Richtersgut farm in Kranenburg invited agroforestry practitioners from the Lower Rhine region to an exchange of ideas as part of the now established agroforestry practice round table. Their 700 or so laying hens live on one hectare of orchard pasture as a traditional form of agroforestry. Strips of orchard stems, blackcurrant and chokeberry have been planted 9 metres apart. The trees and shrubs provide shade, protect against hawks and attract chickens to the area. Afterwards, a tasting of apple juice, which is a by-product of the orchard pasture, provided an opportunity for in-depth professional dialogue.
Kommentare