Project archive

Since October 2014, the Department of Ecology has been working on a "Garden for Students" on Campus North, on the garden grounds of building 24 in Emil-Hilb-Weg (Studentenhaus). All students with an interest in gardening were welcome, whether or not they had gardening experience.

The concept divided the grounds into two areas: the rear section was available to interested students on a plot-by-plot basis for their own management and self-sufficiency with vegetables, whilst in the front section a rock garden and a calcareous grassland were created.

Since the garden's establishment, over 100 gardening enthusiasts have participated in communal sowing, planting, watering and harvesting; vegetables and experience were exchanged, and communal eating was also part of it.

The garden was supported by the Fürstlich Castell'sche Bank (University of Würzburg award for sustainable action), the Botanical Garden Würzburg, the Dehner garden centre Würzburg, the Würzburg Environment and Nature Foundation (irrigation system), the seed archive of open house, the company Beuerlein, the Student Subject Initiative Biology (FIBio), the State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture Veitshöchheim (soil analysis), the Plietz rare plant nursery (Ökokiste Schwarzach) and the Bund Naturschutz Würzburg.

For the CampusGarten, the Department received the quality seal "Recognised UN Decade Project" of the World Decade "Biological Diversity" in 2016.

Citizen Science means the participation of society in science, for example the collection of data on biodiversity using identification apps; the value of such data is increasingly recognised and used for sustainability research.

The Department of Ecology, in cooperation with the LBV University Group, dedicated an entire day to this topic on 10 May in the Central Lecture Hall and Seminar Building (Z6), from 10 to 17 o'clock.

The programme included lectures on the academic background of Citizen Science, walks exploring biodiversity on the campus grounds (birds, CampusGarten, insects) and workshops for hands-on participation (composting, drawing butterflies, building seed bombs); throughout the day a museum and library room with exhibits and literature was open.

The day was opened with welcoming remarks from Vice-President Anja Schlömerkemper and Climate Mayor Sandra Vorlová.

All events were open to everyone, without prior registration; no one had to attend all programme points.

For the State Garden Show 2018 in Würzburg, Stadtgärtner Würzburg e.V., the CampusGarten of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and the Volkshochschule Würzburg jointly created an "experimental garden with process character" on an area of approximately 2,000 square metres in the middle of the garden show.

The questions behind it: How can life in cities be made healthier, greener and more diverse, and how do sustainability and urban life fit together?

People of the most diverse backgrounds, with and without experience of flight, implemented their ideas for urban greenery, urban gardening and urban wilderness together with visitors on site – open-ended, without building plan, timetable and target agreement.

It was demonstrated how small paradises in the city can be created with simple means, through interim use of urban wastelands and up- and recycling of everyday objects: vertical gardens, raised beds, mixed cultivation, herb spirals, sun traps and crater beds, home-made biotopes as well as soil improvement with biochar, terra preta and bokashi.

The team was on site daily, plus there were workshops and lectures on fortnightly changing theme weeks.

The project was supported by the Würzburg Environmental and Nature Foundation (seed vending machine, irrigation, information boards), through donations from a crowdfunding campaign and a grant from VR-Bank.

With this guide, the Department of Ecology aims to show in very practical terms how students can live and study sustainably even on a student budget – because whilst it is well known that the climate is changing, the question "What can I do myself?" often remains unanswered.

The tips range from nutrition through to energy and climate-conscious banking.

The January 2020 edition is a revised version, supplemented by a small map showing the locations of relevant shops and initiatives in Würzburg; the guide was also available in the Student representation office.

Additionally, there is a short leaflet on sustainable studying and four mini-videos "RefÖko presents: The sustainable companion" on the topics of cycling, search engines, drinking and sharing stickers.

The sustainable city map provides an overview of many sustainable businesses and initiatives in Würzburg – following the motto "Think global, act local!".

It was developed in July 2021 together with the Weltbewusst Würzburg regional group.

The map is regularly revised in digital form; the Department welcomes any feedback on errors or necessary changes.

The Eco-Social University Days (ÖSHT) offer a week-long sustainability programme at JMU: How can universities and society be shaped for the future, what concepts already exist, what can each individual do?

The third ÖSHT took place from 21 to 26 June 2021 under the motto "Now Reshaping Together", with a focus on social sustainability and a view to what is feasible and cooperation; alongside ecological sustainability, social and economic sustainability and other existential risks were also to be examined.

The events took place online via Zoom; some were eligible for credit towards the GSiK certificate "Sustainability and Global Responsibility".

The first ÖSHT in a long time took place in winter semester 2020: Within ten days, just over 100 people took part in the programme.

An accompanying survey "Sustainability at the University" found that the university is already doing quite a lot but still has potential, and that many students wish for a more sustainable university and would help; the sample was small and not representative.

From summer semester 2016 to winter semester 2019/20, the Department of Ecology organised a lecture series on sustainability with several evening lectures per semester, including topics on climate and urban climate, education for sustainable development, sustainable business practices, transport transition and social economy.

Most recently, in winter semester 2019/20, it was held jointly with the Commission for Sustainable Development and the Natural Sciences Association Würzburg, on four Thursday evenings in lecture hall 2 at Wittelsbacherplatz.

Admission was free, and each lecture could be credited within the framework of GSiK.

Since winter semester 2020/21, the lecture series has been integrated into the new GSiK focus area "Sustainability and Global Responsibility"; the programme has since been available on the GSiK website (https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/gsik/veranstaltungen/nachhaltigkeit-und-globale-verantwortung/).

The starting point is the observation that the study programme is becoming increasingly specialised, whilst understanding of global interconnections – climate change, resource scarcity, loss of biological diversity, social inequality – is becoming ever more important and can be expected from graduates in every field of study.

A Studium Oecologicum aims to convey these interconnections to students and enable them to act ethically responsibly and sustainably; models are the mandatory "Studium Generale" at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg and the optional "Studium Oecologicum" at Universität Tübingen.

Uni Würzburg offers a comparable GSiK certificate system, which the Department has expanded through the lecture series on Sustainability to include these aspects and wishes to establish permanently and develop further.

The Department's long-term goal is a mandatory, supplementary Studium Oecologicum for all degree programmes in the sense of education for sustainable development.

Older, completed projects of the Department of Ecology: For the period 2016/17, the Department was awarded by UNESCO as an official project of the UN Decade "Biological Diversity"; University Vice-President Barbara Sponholz presented the quality seal "Recognised UN Decade Project 2016" for the CampusGarten on 3 July 2016. Already for 2013/2014, the Department was an official project of the UN Decade "Education for Sustainable Development" (certificate presentation on 20 February at the didacta education fair in Cologne). In 2012, the nationwide initiative of the Eco-Social University Days, organised by the Department of Ecology and the university group Weltladen, took place in Würzburg. The Department advocated for the University to implement the Copernicus Charter for Sustainable Development that it had signed, and lobbied the university management for energy-saving measures, supported amongst other things by results from the working group Synagieren. The Department had long campaigned for the establishment of a responsible body: in 2014, the Commission for Sustainable Development of Universität Würzburg was established, headed by Vice-President Barbara Sponholz and staffed with two student representatives. At an organic and fair trade fair, invited companies and shops presented organic and fairly traded products; due to the great positive response, it was repeated. Since 1 January 2010, the University has sourced electricity from 100 % hydroelectric power from the reservoirs in Kaprun – although through a tender based on price, not on green energy criteria. Furthermore, at the suggestion of and with the participation of the Department, recycled paper was first introduced in the computer centre and the CIP pools, later in the central library and several branch libraries in printers and photocopiers, and in the office of the Student representation, notepads made from recycled paper were sold at cost price.