Seminar 05.06.2026

The main activity today was creating a large garden bed. We purchased various plants for this, such as tomatoes, lavender, and zucchini. Shortly before the workshop, a few people from the planning group met with Esther and Oliver to discuss various matters. We talked about our experiences and progress with Kinder, Wald und Wiese e. V. and other organizational issues.

The seminar split into two groups to start. One group stayed inside and made ashtrays out of old Tetra Paks and pre-sorted the plants. This depends on how much space the plants need and which other plants they can be placed with.

I was on the team outside. There, Oliver introduced us to his tools, which we used to essentially till the area that had already been cleared of grass last week. So we loosened the soil and then mixed in horse manure and fresh soil to create fertile ground. At the same time, we laid out a path around the shrubs in the meadow to give the garden some structure. Before, the collection of plants and beds looked rather disjointed and haphazard.

Pathways have been a major issue. On the one hand, it’s important to ensure there’s still an escape route out of the SFG to avoid complaints. On the other hand, Oliver regularly observes restaurant patrons (mostly men) carelessly walking across the lawn without much consideration. There is therefore concern that the flower beds will be trampled to pieces. The meeting before the seminar also addressed the question of how to counteract this. I assume that most people are willing to be considerate of others. That is why I would design the SFG garden in such a way that the effort put into it is visible, making people more hesitant to destroy it. Another suggestion was to put up signs, which I also think is a good idea. Signs establish clear rules and expectations for a previously unoccupied space.

While working on the path, Oliver came up with the idea of building an earthen wall out of the sod to protect the garden bed. It could also pose a tripping hazard once the wall becomes overgrown. A willow fence is prettier and more visible. We could also combine the two.

There was some time pressure during the planting, as a thunderstorm was forecast. But we managed it. Afterward, the seminar concluded with a discussion of the seminar text.