Reforestation project with exemplary character

Municipal administration, forest office and Emil Kiessling GmbH move to action

A total of 25 seedlings formed the start of a new – and so far unique – sustainable cooperation project in the surroundings of Georgensgmünd: 7,000 m² of municipal forest near Mäbenberg will be reforested in the coming months with climate-tolerant mixed tree species, thereby moving away from the fossil monoculture of coniferous trees. A local nursery, under the guidance of forester Alexander Riedmaier, will plant 2,500 sweet chestnuts, sessile oaks, black alder and European beech for this purpose by the end of the year.

The action has become possible thanks to the support of Emil Kiessling GmbH. The Gmünd company had been looking for a suitable sustainability project in which it could invest. With the reforestation of the municipal forest they now have the opportunity to promote environmental protection right at their doorstep. “Here we can watch the seedlings grow with our own eyes,” says managing director Martina Reichardt-Demirtas. “Each of our employees receives a sponsor tree and can thus make an active contribution to sustainability and climate neutrality.”

Together with sustainability manager Franziska Schubert, forester Alexander Riedmaier and the municipal manager of Georgensgmünd, Ralf Allgaier, she now planted the first saplings in the sandy forest soil. The seedlings are currently two years old; in a few decades they will have sustainably shaped the structure and appearance of the municipal forest.