OÖN forest day: “What I like best is that we are in nature today”

2023-06-14 16:58:00

“Thank you for the lovely walk in the woods!” – That’s what you can read on the front page of a small self-made brochure that was brought to the OÖN editorial team. On 25 pages, the children of the 3i class of the Adalbert-Stifter-School Ried have summarized their impressions of a special day in the forest in Frauschereck with drawings. The enthusiasm of the girls and boys might be felt from the very first minute in the forest, with district forester Matthias Berger from the federal forests and his colleague Alfred Hellermann, there were two perfect forest professionals at the side of the 23 school children and their three teachers.

Experience the forest blindfolded – other senses are required.
Bild: Roman Kloibhofer

“Please follow the rules!”

“I would like to discuss a few rules with you at the beginning,” says forester Matthias and explains how you should behave in the forest. Don’t be too loud, don’t throw anything away, be sure to heed the signs (e.g. no walking or driving if logging work is being carried out) or: “Don’t attack small animals, even if it looks like they’ve been abandoned!” But then Matthias limits: “The rule of loudness, we limit that today, we also want to have a little fun,” he says and walks with the children to explore the lush green Kobernausserwald.

“The most common tree species is the spruce, the second most common is the fir,” says the forester and explains that the federal forests will make the forest more species-rich and thus climate-friendly. Then the children learn regarding shallow and deep roots, regarding tree species that will survive climate change better and regarding the threat posed by the bark beetle.

OÖN forest day in the Kobernausserwald — The bark beetle poses a threat to the forest.
Bild: Roman Kloibhofer

When the beetle bores

“Look, there’s a bark beetle,” explains Matthias, showing a piece of bark. “It bores under the bark, lays its eggs there, and the caterpillars then eat their way through, interrupting the trees’ water supply vessels and the tree withers.”

The two forestry experts playfully explain to the children the ecology of the forest, the interaction of plants, animals, weather influences – and people. “The forest of the future is very important for us at Bundesforste – children in particular are the generation for whom we are shaping this future. And it is so important that children are shown how important the forest is through all its functions – oxygen production and CO2 – Bonding – is for us.”

Felling work is also important for the forest design, Alfred Hellermann shows how a tree is felled and which protective measures (“Warnings and prohibitions must be observed!”) are necessary. And then the children can lend a hand with the pull saw and saw down a slice from the tree trunk. Here, too, fun is in the foreground, and the age of a tree and the meaning of the tree rings can be explained using the log disc.

The highlight of the excursion was, of course, the construction of gnome houses, and by this point at the latest the enthusiasm of all the boys and girls might be seen.