Insect-friendly Perennial Bed
Creation of a naturalised perennial bed in front of the Central Library to promote wild bees and insects on campus.
About the project
The green area in front of the SUB Göttingen Central Library on the campus of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is a popular place for students and staff to spend time in the shade of the trees or sit on the large stone blocks when the weather is nice. However, this lawn was less frequented by insects. It therefore became the focus of the SUB Göttingen's sustainability working group.
This area was ecologically upgraded in May 2024. A perennial bed now serves as a valuable source of food for wild bees and many other insect species with flowering perennial plants. It is not only a beautiful sight, but also contributes to the preservation of biodiversity.
Over 400 drought-tolerant wild perennials from Central and Southern Europe were planted over an area of around 50 square meters, which were pre-grown and donated to the project by Dr. Michael Schwerdtfeger, garden curator at the Alter Botanischer Garten. You can find detailed information on the selected perennials and their pollinators via the plant and insect list of the insect pasture at NaturaDB.
The Old Botanical Garden, which is within flying distance of insects from the perennial bed, is a wild bee hotspot in Germany with 140 out of 600 native bee species. Perennials were selected that are particularly insect-friendly. As most of them are "climatic perennials", they do not require additional watering once they have grown, even in extreme summers.
From Idea to Action
To prevent other weeds from spreading in the bed, the area was excavated to a depth of 30 cm before planting and filled with seed-free plant substrate. A bed edging prevents the lateral penetration of grass roots. During the planning phase, Jasper David Rasokat, a student, provided valuable advice on the creation, species composition and maintenance of the bed. He had taken part in the ideas competition for Students 2022 with his concept Ecological enhancement on the central campus"and actively contributed his experience to the implementation.
Joint Commitment to Sustainability
The Sustainability Working Group of the SUB Göttingen initiated and coordinated the project. The Green Office and Facility Management of the University of Göttingen, the Alumni Göttingen e. V., as well as the Office of House Services and Logistics of the SUB Göttingen also ensured the successful implementation in close cooperation. Spontaneous helpers provided active support on site in distributing the substrate and planting.
The perennial bed project is a further building block in the implementation of the SUB Göttingen's sustainability guideline and, in addition to its ecological and aesthetic effect, is itself designed to be sustainable. It combines the ideas and expertise of staff and students and pools direct commitment to sustainability in the university's own working and study environment. The university facilities and the student body are thus moving closer together, and the Göttinger Saatgut-Bibliothek is also delighted with the seeds from the perennials. It will collect the perennial seeds in the spirit of sustainability and make them available free of charge.
Discover and Participate
The SUB Göttingen's sustainability working group cordially invites anyone interested to visit and observe the flowering plants and their flower-visiting insects and to use the perennial bed as inspiration for insect-friendly planting in your own garden or balcony.
In the drawers of the Göttinger Saatgut-Bibliothek you will find free seeds to take home for your garden.
Funding and Further Information
- The City of Göttingen and the Universitätsbund Göttingen e. V. supported the project. Thank you!
- Sustainability website of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
- Participation in the planting competition ‘Deutschland summt’