This year's jury, consisting of Annika Urhahn (Ludwigsburg Zero), Albrecht Lang (District Master Craftsman) and Dr. Andreas Richter (Deputy Mayor of Tamm - last year's winning municipality), opted for a species conservation initiative: Mia Krämer and Nick Lippik from Gemmrigheim were able to convince the jury with the broad approach of their species conservation project, which aims to involve the entire municipality.
"Worldwide, 40 percent of all insect species are now threatened with extinction. Climate change is accelerating the loss of biodiversity even more," warns Mia Krämer. "With our "Buzzing Gemmrigheim" project, we want to do something about the extinction of insect species." The two trainees at the municipal administration want to achieve this by encouraging many Gemmrigheim residents to transform open spaces into bee- and insect-friendly flowering meadows or strips. "Diverse commitment to biodiversity" is the keyword.
Together with their mentor Bärbel Petters, the two trainees have set themselves ambitious goals. Nick Lippik explains how they want to reach the different target groups, from young to old. "Anyone who wants to can take part. You can either lend a hand yourself, make areas available, act as a bed sponsor, donate money or promote the campaign". The trainees also want to implement their project in the Gemmrigheim steep slopes, for example on fallow land or on the edges of vineyards.
It remains to be seen whether the two have a chance of winning the national prize - they are all starting from scratch again. "In the end, everyone is a winner anyway," said District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier at the award ceremony. "The experience that the trainees gain in the project work and, of course, the positive impact on climate and environmental protection are worth a lot. As a district, it is very important to us to anchor climate protection as a community task in the wider population. The Municipal Climate Scouts project shows that this can succeed. Young people are leading the way as role models and taking responsibility. This can also encourage other people. Thank you for that!"
The District Administrator also wished the other projects every success in their implementation. The topics ranged from food sharing in the canteen, raised beds and a cookbook to the current topic of saving energy.
Info: The "Municipal climate scouts - trainees for more climate protection" project qualifies the next generation of municipal employees for climate protection in the workplace. The workshop program was developed by the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) and is now in its second year of implementation in the district of Ludwigsburg by the Ludwigsburg District Energy Agency (LEA e.V.). Participating trainees learn the basics of project management and communication, gain insights into the diverse topics of climate change and municipal climate protection and develop their own climate protection projects at their workplace.
