At the top of their voices, the “Summers” are singing the lyrics of the famous song of the German band “Die Ärzte”in the small, tiled kitchen. Some of them have taken off their shirts and dance around, it is warm and stuffy. “Your fault” is probably the perfect song for this party: the students are celebrating the success of the referendum for biodiversity protection in Bavaria. They not longer wanted to be responsible for no changes in the world. For weeks, they have distributed leaflets, stood in the freezing weather of February to speak with pedestrians, dressed in bee costumes, to raise awareness for the referendum on biodiversity. Still wearing their orange safety vests with the imprint “Save the bees” on the back, they dance through the apartment, where the party takes place.

“Don’t believe anyone who tells you, you can’t change a thing.

Those who say that are just scared of changes.”

On Wednesday, 13 February 2019, the referendum ended and it was clear: The topic enters the next round, the needed 1 million signatures, equivalent to 10% of the population,  have been collected in Bavaria. To be more precise, the needed limit has been exceeded. In total, more than 1.7 million people have signed the petition in the city halls across Bavaria, indicating that they want more biodiversity protection and conservation. “The referendum in Bavaria is a clear sign, also for the current negotiations in the EU agricultural policy”, Stefanie Propp says, second chairwoman of the “Summers”. In Bayreuth, she was as well speaker for the referendum on biodiversity. “I was sure, we would reach one million signatures. But more than 18 percent were achieved, that makes me even more happy and shows our dedication is worth it!”

In Bayreuth, the “Summers” have definitely helped the referendum to succeed. But who is behind that name? In 2018, various students of the University of Bayreuth founded the club “Summer in der City” to put a spotlight on biodiversity. “We were nine students and wanted to change something”, Thomas Pickel says. The 27-year-old student of geoecology is one of the founders of Summer in der City. Their name is not a hidden sign for a club of Joe Cocker fans but refers to the word “summen” which means “buzz” in German – very accurate for a club trying to save insects. “Currently, we have 15 members who are very active, meaning they are contributing more than once a week. Furthermore, there are 30 to 40 more people who are also helping often.” So far, the club is completely funded by donations and the membership fees. It costs 10 Euro per year  to become a “Summer”. “It is wonderful to see that so many people want to contribute to nature conservation”, Leonie Gass, member of the Summers, says. “It gives me new power and new confidence that something is going to change!”

Initially, they could share their expertise with others in smaller projects. So, they made sure that the meadows at the campus of University of Bayreuth are only mowed twice a year. This happened in cooperation with Green Campus and Christian Laforsch, professor for animal ecology at the University of Bayreuth. This way, more plants are blooming and thus offering food and habitat for insects.

While the University of Bayreuth mixed seeds into the ploughed soil and created space for insects that way, the students built insect hotels. Soon, they will install them on campus. At “Wilhelminenaue”, the Summers have created grassland and low-nutrient habitats on the area of the initiative “Essbare Stadt Bayreuth” (German for eatable city). Insects will also find new space to live on there. “This was our main project last year”, Stefanie Propp says.

“We wanted to get active. We know the problem, but we don’t just want to complain about it but actually change something”, Thomas Pickel says.

“Because everyone who doesn’t want to change the world, is signing her death sentence!”

The fact that most members of the Summers are students is both, a curse and a saviour at the same time. A saviour, because they have a lot of expertise in that topic due to their study programmes. A curse, because students often move away, causing frequent changes.

Therefore, the Summers wish to engage more people from outside the university. To make this happen, they want to work more in public areas.

“For this year, we have planned two big projects”, Thomas Pickel says. First, there is a nature garden project which provides the Summers the chance to create a natural garden on an area of 10.000 m2 in Wilhelminenaue. A crowdfunding campaign is supposed to help to construct the garden. “In the nature garden, amongst others, there will be a wild rose garden and a meadow orchard. They will as well attract insects and create new habitats for other animals such as hedgehogs and lizards.”

Second, there is the project “Franken Flowers”. It is planned for 2019: The Summers cooperate with regional market gardens to sell domestic indigenous flowers and shrubs. This is important as some insects rely on special plants. “We hope, the natural garden will encourage people to create such a garden at their homes as well.”

Sleepless nights, sore arms and legs from digging in soil, working hard to awaken other people – all that is often the daily life of the Summers. But is seems to be rewarded: The fact that nearly twice as much people as needed signed the referendum, bolsters them. Some movement is happening. It just needs someone to take the first step. Just like the Summers.

„It is not your fault, the world is at it is. It would just be your fault if she stayed like this!”

The post How students take the first step for biodiversity appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Der Grund dafür: Deutschlands Insekten. Oder besser gesagt, deren Rettung. Im Oktober 2017 ging eine Studie wie ein Lauffeuer um die Welt, die besagte, dass in geschützten Gebieten ein Rückgang von 75% aller Insekten zu verzeichnen ist. „Das war für uns der Punkt, an dem wir gesagt haben, wir müssen handeln“, sagt Thomas Pickel und nippt an seiner Kaffeetasse. Gemeinsam mit acht weiteren Studienfreunden gründete der Geoökologie-Student „Summer in the City“, einen Verein für den Artenschutz. „Jahrelang haben Naturschützer versucht, auf die Problematik des Artenschwunds aufmerksam zu machen. Sie haben symbolträchtige Tiere gewählt wie den Weißstorch oder den Wolf. Es ist beinahe ironisch, dass es dann mit den kleinen Insekten geklappt hat, die Menschen aufzurütteln.“

Der Artenschwund der Insekten war immer wieder Thema in den Medien. Vor allem ein bestimmter Vertreter dieser Lebewesen ist dadurch in den Fokus gerückt: die Biene. „Insekten mögen klein sein, aber sie machen eine unglaublich große Masse aus und sind ungeheuer wichtig. In Deutschland gibt es 48.000 Arten von Tieren – 33.000 davon sind allein Insekten“, sagt Pickel. Inzwischen ist der Artenschwund in Bayern in der Debattenliste so weit nach oben gewandert, dass sich etwas grundsätzlich ändern könnte: Durch das Volksbegehren “Artenvielfalt Rettet die Bienen!“ können wahlberechtigte Bürger in Bayern ab dem 31. Januar bis zum 13. Februar darüber abstimmen, ob sie Gesetze für mehr Artenschutz in ihrem Bundesland wollen.

Diese Gesetze würden unter anderem Pestizideinsatz in Biotopen verbieten, die ökologische Landwirtschaft stärken (bis 2030 sollen 30% der Landwirtschaft in Bayern ökologisch sein) und die Randstreifen von natürlichen Gewässern schützen. „In allen anderen 15 Bundesländern in Deutschland gibt es bereits einen Schutz von 5 Metern links und rechts von natürlichen Gewässern. Dort darf kein Ackerbau stattfinden, durch den Düngemittel und Pestizide in das Wasser fließen und die dort laichenden Arten stören,“ sagt Pickel.

Er ist überzeugt, dass das Volksbegehren Erfolg haben wird. „Zwei Wochen sind keine lange Zeit“, räumt er ein. In dieser Zeit müssen bayernweit eine Million Unterschriften gesammelt werden. „Aber es hat schon zweimal bei anderen Themen geklappt, bei denen keiner dran geglaubt hat.“ Damit meint Pickel die Volksbegehren in Bayern zum Nichtraucherschutz und den Studiengebühren. Ersteres war 2010 erfolgreich und hatte zur Folge, dass Rauchen an öffentlichen Orten verboten wurde. Zweiteres schaffte im Jahr 2013 die Studiengebühren von etwa 500 Euro pro Student pro Semester in Bayern ab.

Deswegen ist Thomas Pickel auch zuversichtlich, dass sich eine Million Menschen mit ihrer Unterschrift für die Insekten in Bayern einsetzen werden. „Ein Freund von mir hat neulich im Zug aus Spaß 45 Personen befragt. Mehr als 50 Prozent wussten von dem Volksbegehren und wollen es auch unterschreiben“, sagt er mit leuchtenden Augen. Wichtig sei vor allem, möglichst viele Menschen in den größeren Städten wie München und Nürnberg zu motivieren. Die Wähler können ihre Stimme in den Rathäusern der Städte abgeben, mehr Informationen dazu hier. Hier in Bayreuth wollen die Summer es schaffen, rund 10.000 Stimmen für die Insekten zu sammeln.

Dafür mobilisieren sie an allen Ecken: Sie verteilen Flyer, hängen Plakate auf, sprechen mit den Menschen. „Zurzeit fahre ich mit dem Rad wahrscheinlich 40 Stundenkilometer und hetze von hier nach dort“, sagt Thomas Pickel lachend. Vor einigen Tagen hat er für eine Radioshow mit dem Pressesprecher des Bayerischen Bauernverbandes, Markus Peters, gesprochen. Die Bauern sind derzeit der wohl schärfste Gegner des Volksbegehrens. 30 Prozent Ökolandbau bis im Jahr 2030 sei nicht machbar, so die Begründung. „Das soll sich auf keinen Fall gegen die Bauern wenden. Im Gegenteil, es soll den Staat zum Umdenken und Umlenken in der Landwirtschaft bringen“, sagt Pickel.

Dass 30 Prozent ökologische Landwirtschaft sehr wohl möglich seien, sei am Beispiel Österreich abzulesen: Dort seien es mittlerweile etwa 25 Prozent. Durchgesetzt wurde das dadurch, dass etwa Kantinen von Schulen, Behörden und Firmen rechtlich dazu verpflichtet wurden, ökologisch angebaute Lebensmittel zu verwenden. „Wir zerstören die wertvollen, artenreichen Kulturflächen momentan, weil wir alles totspritzen und intensivieren“, sagt Pickel. „Das Volksbegehren ist ein verzweifelter Versuch, etwas zu ändern. Die Politik macht ja nichts, die schauen immer noch nur zu.“

Rund 44% der Landfläche Bayerns werden landwirtschaftlich genutzt, bisher sei die Agrarwirtschaft auch noch recht kleinteilig in dem süddeutschen Bundesland. Dennoch – das Artensterben ist in landwirtschaftlichen Bereichen besonders groß. Im Grunde ist aber auch den bayerischen Bauern auch klar, dass sich etwas ändern muss in Sachen Artenschutz.

Immer wieder winken Studierende am Campus Thomas Pickel zu, rufen etwas herüber oder fragen ihn etwas wegen des Volksentscheids. Er grinst unter seiner Schirmmütze hervor und freut sich, dass so viele andere sich auch für das Wohl der Natur interessieren und einsetzen. „Wir müssen unseren Kindern doch eine schöne Welt hinterlassen und nicht wie die Generationen vor uns denken „Nach uns die Sintflut“ und sich um nichts kümmern. Uns geht es darum, zukunftsfähig und nachhaltig zu sein. Wir wollen unsere Erde nicht kaputt machen!“

The post Eine Unterschrift für den Erhalt der Artenvielfalt appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

The reason for his insomnia: Germany’s insects. Or, to be more precise, their rescue. In October 2017, a study caused a huge uproar, stating that there was a decline of about 75% in all insects in protected areas. “This was when we said we have to do something”, Thomas Pickel says, sipping his coffee. Together with eight other students, he founded “Summer in the City”, a club for biodiversity protection based in Bayreuth. “Over years, conservationists have tried to get the public’s attention to the species decline. They chose symbolic animals to spread the message, like the White Stork or the wolf. It’s kind of ironic that the smallest animals, the insects, are getting the attention now.”

The species decline of insects has been discussed in the media over and over ever since. Especially one kind of insects moved to the spotlight: bees. “Insects might be small, but they make up a huge part of biomass and are incredibly important. In Germany alone, there are 48.000 different animal species – 33.000 of them are insects”, Pickel says.

Meanwhile, the topic moved to the top of the discussion list. This could lead to fundamental changes: The referendum “Artenvielfalt Rettet die Bienen!” (English: “Biodiversity Save the bees!”) enables elective citizen of the federal state of Bavaria to vote for new legislations on biodiversity protection. From January 31 to February 13, they have the chance to sign the referendum in city halls all across Bavaria.

The new legislation would for example include the prohibition of pesticides in biotopes, it would strengthen organic agriculture (until 2030, 30 percent of the Bavarian agriculture should be organic) and the protection of natural water bodies. “In all other 15 federal states of Germany, there is already a protection buffer of five meters around natural water bodies. It is prohibited to farm there as fertilizer and pesticides could flow into the water and disturb spawning species”, Pickel says.

He is confident that one million people will sign the petition. “A friend recently asked 45 persons in the train if they knew about the referendum and if they would vote for it. More than 50 percent said yes”, he says, eyes shining. He thinks it is crucial to motivate especially people in big cities, like in Munich or Nuremberg. In Bayreuth, the “Summerer” how Pickel and his friends from “Summer in the city” are sometimes called, hope to collect about 10,000 votes for the insects. Find more information here.

To reach this goal, they are mobilizing all across the city, distributing leaflets, fixing posters, talking to people. “These days, I guess I am racing around on my bike with about 40 kilometers per hour”, Thomas Pickel says, laughing. A few days ago, he talked with the spokesman of the Bavarian farmers’ association in a radio show. The farmers are currently the strongest opponents of the referendum. Their main argument: 30 percent of organic agriculture are not possible to achieve until 2030. “The referendum is definitely not against the famers and their needs. On the contrary, it shall bring the state to rethink and redirect agriculture”, Pickel says.

A good example for organic agriculture is Austria: in 2017, about 24 percent of the country’s agriculture are already organic, trend rising. This has been achieved by engaging cafeterias of schools, offices and companies to use organically produced groceries. “Right now, we are destroying our biodiverse nature because we are spraying pesticides, killing everything, and intensifying the agricultural sector. The referendum is a desperate attempt to change this. Politicians are not doing anything, they are still just looking.”

In Bavaria, about 44% of the land surface are used for agriculture, with still relatively small-patched fields. Still, the species decline is especially high in agricultural areas. In general, Bavaria’s farmers know as well that something has to change in relation to biodiversity protection.

Again and again, students are waving at Thomas Pickel, calling across the campus, asking him about details on the referendum. Under his cap, he is grinning, obviously happy about the fact that so many are interested in protecting nature. “We have to leave a beautiful world for our children and stop thinking “After me, the deluge” like generations before us did, not caring about anything. It is important for us to be sustainable. We don’t want to destroy our planet!”

The post Referendum could save Bavaria’s biodiversity appeared first on Global Change Ecology.