Working Group Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Table of contents
Background of the Working Group (WG) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
With the Environment Commission’s signature of approval, the Chair of Business Administration esp. Environmental Management at IHI Zittau, the Green Office, Division 4, and the TU student environmental initiative have established a WG for promoting "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services at the TUD". The WG Biodiversity of the Environmental Commission is a group at TU Dresden that focuses on the preservation and promotion of biodiversity and various ecosystems on the TUD campus and beyond. The aim is to raise awareness of the topic among students, employees, and other interested parties. Research and practical projects are carried out in which interested students and employees can participate as volunteers.
Projects Achieved by the WG Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- Biodiversity in the Bag
In the winter semester of 2022/23, first-year students received packets of seeds in their welcome bags, which they could then sow on campus or on their balconies to make their environment a little more colorful and diverse. This campaign seeks to boost awareness of biodiversity on campus and offer a low-threshold opportunity to take part in biodiversity conservation. The project was conducted on a volunteer basis by Leyla Azizi, Alexandra Seifert, Yu-Shan Lin Feuer, Stella-Maria Yerokhin, Kristin Fiedler, Luise Heiland, and Stephanie Kopp in cooperation with TU Dresden’s Green Office and the Sächsische Aufbaubank.
- Wildflower Meadows on the TUD Campus
This project is concentrated on two wildflower meadows on the TUD campus which was implemented in the summer semester 2023 on the grounds of the Center for Integrated Natural Materials Technology (ZIN). This project seeks to increase wildflowers and species diversity on campus. It was carried out thanks to Ulrike Seiler, Lisa Junge, Leyla Azizi, Remmer Sassen, Katharina Schmitt, Nicole Rüsing, Amir Raoufi, Kristin Fiedler, basic lecture on ecological sustainability, and the IG Wildplanzen.
-
Book Chapter: How do Higher Education Institutions Manage Biodiversity? Exploring the Current State at Universities from the Global North and South
Together with the student assistant of the Chair, Stella-Maria Yerokhin, and the intern from the WG, Ting-Yu Lin, a book chapter exploring the current state of biodiversity management at universities from the Global North and South has been published with Yu-Shan Lin Feuer, Leyla Azizi, and Remmer Sassen under the book "Higher Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Bridging the Global North and South" of Emerald Group Publishing. -
Gorbitz Dialogue
Through the TU Dresden's school contact point, contact was made with the high school in Gorbitz, where last year a group of 9th-grade students planted a flowering meadow in the local kindergarten as part of the "Learning through Engagement" profile lesson. The Gorbitz Dialogue was about sharing experiences on the topic of flowering meadows. Lisa Junge was on site in Gorbitz to talk to the pupils and share her academic perspective. The main focus was on how citizens can become part of the research process by participating in citizen science projects. Lisa Junge also introduced the concept of ecosystem services to the students to emphasize that the protection of biodiversity is not only for aesthetic reasons but is of economic and social importance. In addition, our student assistant, Tina Werchan, created child-friendly information materials on biodiversity and ecosystem services (in German) for the Gorbitz Dialogue, which were made available at the school. -
Conference Contribution: "Biodiversity for the TU Dresden Campus"
On 11 April 2024, the WG Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services will present a poster at the conference "Real-world laboratories - experimental spaces for the path to a sustainable society" organized by the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) Dresden. The poster contribution presents the various projects of the WG and links them to the methodology of the real-world laboratory. In the context of the WG, the TUD campus is used as a real-world laboratory to investigate how the topic of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services can be protected and promoted through participatory experimentation. The WG team hopes that participation in the open topic strand will provide helpful feedback to sharpen further projects of the WG as well as networking with like-minded people in the Saxon scientific landscape.
Upcoming Projects of the WG Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- Insect Hotel on the TUD Campus in Summer Semester 2024
For the summer semester of 2024, the WG is planning to build an insect hotel in connection with the "Wildflower Meadows" project from the summer semester of 2023. The aim is to continue to draw attention to the topic of biodiversity and ecosystem services on the TU Dresden campus and to actively promote local biodiversity and ecosystem services. The insect hotel is expected to be installed on the butterfly meadow behind the biology building on April 23, 2024. - Biodiversity in the Bag in Winter Semester 2024/25
The WG is glad to once again receive funding from the Sächsische Aufbaubank for the distribution of seed bags to first-semester students in the coming winter semester 2024/25 - the campus and the surrounding area will blossom again. This project was carried out thanks to the commitment of Leyla Azizi and Janne Stolte.
Call for Action: We need your support - Together for biodiversity!
If you are interested in joining the WG or would like to learn more about the work of the WG, please send an e-mail to . We are always happy to have more helping hands in the WG as well as ideas for future projects!