For a sunny habitat for gentian & co.

Our Schwedt plant borders directly on the Lower Oder Valley National Park. This is another reason why LEIPA is a member of the reserve's support association. Once a year, the association invites its members and all other nature enthusiasts to a major hands-on event. In 2023, the focus was on dry grasslands.
Dry grasslands are very species-rich habitats due to their nutrient-poor, dry soils. In the national park, they cover only around 1.2 percent of the area, or 122 hectares. They are home to rare animal and plant species that need sunlit, open ground to survive. In the Lower Oder Valley, for example, these include floral rarities on the Red List such as the common gentian, the moonwort and the helmet orchid. Among others, sand lizards, grasshoppers and a remarkable variety of butterflies live here.
LEIPA provided the largest group of volunteers for last Saturday's work assignment. 20 employees, some accompanied by their spouses and children, armed themselves with loppers and rakes to tackle the spreading blackthorn and other bushes on an area of dry grassland near Gartz and transport the cuttings away in tarpaulins.
In temperatures just above zero degrees and bright sunshine, everyone involved not only made a contribution to active environmental protection, but also had a lot of fun in the process. Thanks to the deforestation campaign, this most valuable biotope in the Lower Oder Valley can be transformed into a colorful, flowering and insect-rich area again next year.