Welcome by LIFE IP Project Manager Sebastian Schmidt (Münster District Government), Georg Keggenhoff and Christoph Leifer (both MULNV) © Bezirksregierung Münster
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News
14.09.2021
LIFE Projects and stakeholders visited the LIFE IP
On 7th and 8th September, the LIFE IP Atlantic Region DE hosted the ‘LIFE NRW Meeting’ in and around Münster. The meeting which is usually held annually offers the options for exchange to all running and planned LIFE projects in North Rhine-Westphalia and the stakeholders linked to the European Union's LIFE programme. Due to the Corona pandemic, last year, the LIFE IP project team of the Münster district government had only been able to organise the event as a video conference. This year, in compliance with the given regulations and hygiene measures, a face-to-face meeting could take place again. Thus, all those present were very happy about the reunion and the direct exchange. For the first time, colleagues from Lower Saxony were also present with two participants from the LIFE IP team of the NLWKN.
On the first day of the meeting, besides a presentation of the current project status of the LIFE IP by project leader Sebastian Schmidt, there was up-to-date information on the LIFE programme by Georg Keggenhoff (MULNV) and Lars Borrass (NEEMO). In addition, the two most recently launched LIFE projects ‘helle Eifeltäler’ (Marietta Schmitz, Biological Station of the district Euskirchen) and ‘Wiesenvögel NRW’ (LANUV, Peter Herkenrath) each gave a presentation. Dr Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras also explained a LIFE project planned by the Biological Station Siegen-Wittgenstein. In the afternoon, three short workshops were held on the topics of administration, project implementation and public relations before an evening excursion to the Rieselfelder Münster.
On the second day of the meeting, three action sites of the LIFE IP were visited. In the nature reserve Bockholter Berge near Greven-Gimbte (district of Steinfurt), Andreas Beulting, Norbert Menke (both NABU Nature Conservation Station Münsterland) and Simone Eckermann (Regional Forestry Office Münsterland) explained the work carried out to extend the open sand dunes to promote habitat types 2310 and 2330 as well as the sand lizard and other typical species. The excursion continued to the Eper-Graeser Venn in Gronau-Epe (district of Borken). There, Christoph Rückriem (Biological Station Zwillbrock) and Patrick Lückel (Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the District of Borken) presented the measures carried out there which restored larger areas of habitat type 4010 and smaller areas of the habitat types 7140 and 3130 on a total area of about 1.6 hectares.
The last excursion destination finally led to the Gildehauser Venn in Lower Saxony, directly bordering North Rhine-Westphalia. Jan Deters and Manuela Monzka from the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the District Grafschaft Bentheim gave an introduction to this nature reserve and the measures undertaken there by the LIFE IP. Some smaller former heath ponds with Dortmann's cardinalflower (habitat type 3110) had been restored by desludging the ground and removing bushes close to the edges. In addition, water bodies with floating water-plantain (Luronia natans) occurrences had been optimized by removing overgrown woody plants, partially stripping off the edges and desludging. The blooming floating water-plantain was the icing on the cake of the excursion!
We thank all participants for the lively exchange and look forward to the next LIFE NRW meeting at the LIFE ‘Living reeds’ of the Nature Conservation Centre in the district of Kleve!