Gernot Schwab is in charge of project management at the school, and the research acquisition department, headed by Renate Mayer and Walter Starz from the Institute for Biological Agriculture, coordinates the measures.
activities
Since 2018, an originally fallow meadow of around three hectares has been converted into an agriculturally usable flowering meadow with rare species.
It is a typical wet meadow of the Middle Enns Valley, exactly between the B320 federal road and the ÖBB railway line in Trautenfels. The area is located in the HQ30 drainage area and therefore also serves as a natural retention area during floods.
This area has not been cultivated for over 30 years and has become overgrown. In the last two years it has been possible to obtain bedding again for the animal stables at the Moarhof of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. Mowing takes place once in autumn so that the seeds of the rare flowering plants can germinate in spring. The Siberian iris in particular, but also daffodils and orchids and other wet meadow plants should be able to spread again.
The students have already planted a “phenological hedge” in order to be able to determine the phases from the time of flowering to the leaf fall of these indicator plants over the course of the year. A beetle larva castle and a stone castle for reptiles have also already been set up and stand out from the wet biotopes for amphibians.
Simple seating made of larch wood invites you to linger and observe nature. They are currently being built in the wood workshop by the students in Raumberg. Nesting boxes for the hoopoe and wryneck are also being built and a dormouse also has a place. This year's project is scheduled to be completed in June 2021.
Outdoor classroom
The “open-air classroom” will provide school classes and the general public with interesting information about nature at the foot of the Grimming and invite them to linger for a while. With our project we would like to raise awareness of nature conservation and the preservation of the biodiversity of flowering meadows through ecological land use practices in the Ennstal.
For the report see download
team
DI Renate Mayer
Acquisition
MMag. Gernot Schwab
General education