From November 10 to 13, students from the Landscape Planning and Nature Conservation program at TUM visited Detmold and met with fellow students from the Landscape Architecture program at the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (TH OWL) for a workshop and field trip. The multi-day excursion was part of the Landscape Planning project, in which students spend the semester developing concepts for what a resilient landscape adapted to climate change might look like in Detmold and the surrounding area.

The meeting first took the students to the forest of the Landesverband Lippe, where Susanne Hoffmann, head of the forestry department, discussed with them the effects of climate change on regional forest development. They then visited the Hiddeser Bent, the last remaining raised bog in the Teutoburg Forest, to discuss the climate protection function of bogs and wetlands with Fabian Fester from the Lippe Biological Station. On the second day, the focus was on climate-adapted urban development. In downtown Detmold, Susanne Hoffjann, head of the Open Space Planning Department, explained the implementation of the “sponge city” principle in the historic Schlosspark grounds.

During the concluding World Café at the Creative Campus in Detmold, the students worked together under the theme “Detmold 2050” to develop initial ideas for climate-just landscape development. Based on the insights gained from the field trip and an in-depth analysis, visions for the future and concrete recommendations for action for the region are to be developed by the end of the semester. “Such teaching formats are a valuable experience for the students,” emphasizes Professor Dr. Werner Rolf. “Not only does this foster a dynamic exchange between theory and practice, but students also work together to develop solutions for concrete societal challenges posed by climate change. The participants’ commitment was particularly impressive—that is exactly what we need to effectively address the challenges of climate change.”

The event is part of a collaboration between the Department of Landscape Planning, Landscape Ecology, and Nature Conservation at TH OWL, represented by Professors Christian Jolk and Werner Rolf, and the Chair of Strategy and Management of Landscape Development at TUM, represented by Jana Igl.