Initiated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the award was presented to Dr. Roswitha Krum, head of the responsible specialist department for children, youth and family, by city councillor Dr. Dirk Härdrich with congratulations.
The team from the "Experience nature for parents and children" project, Bernd Waldmann, Head of Urban Planning, Environment, Building Regulations and Monument Protection, as well as children with teachers from the Christ König family center and family members of the project initiator were also present at the award ceremony.
Biodiversity is declining worldwide. This is why the United Nations has declared the current decade the UN Decade on Biodiversity. In Germany, the UN Decade is being implemented on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment with the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. For this purpose, there is an office which, in addition to media work, also organizes a competition for UN Decade projects and contributions. Particularly good projects are selected by a jury of experts on the basis of transparent criteria and presented to the public. Award-winning projects are entitled to use the title "Outstanding UN Decade Project" for two years.
In Salzgitter, the "Experiencing nature for parents and children" project run by the Children, Youth and Family Department was selected for such an award due to its exemplary nature. According to Dr. Härdrich, the aim is "to bring children and families into nature and make it possible to experience the environment. Children, young people and adults should get the feeling of being part of the natural cycles. It is intended to promote joint family leisure activities in nature and make nature, the environment and biodiversity tangible."
The project has been running in Salzgitter since 2012 and is a sub-project of the "Early Help" program of the Salzgitter Family Service. It is offered free of charge to Salzgitter's families, including those who are connected to kindergartens, family centers, family daycare centers, decentralized family service centers, daycare facilities and after-school care centers. The current focus of the project is on the topics of "discovering and experiencing nature with all your senses", "natural lifestyles" and "environmental protection".
Accompanied by staff specially trained in forest and wilderness education, the activities take place several times a month in regional forests and local recreation areas, depending on requests. Depending on the group, exciting and needs-oriented activities and experiments are offered during the excursions, which turn the forest and wilderness habitats into a lasting experience. For example, the focus is on trees as a habitat, the forest and its fauna and flora as well as various animal species and their ways of life.