Embracing the Outdoors: Focusing on Natural Surroundings

In an effort to promote sustainability and enhance the urban environment, the city of Detmold has joined the "GroundAir" competition by Provinzial Insurance. This initiative, which also includes cities such as Bielefeld and Paderborn, aims to encourage municipalities to unseal areas and transform them into green living spaces.

Andreas Hoffmann, team leader of the city portal's urban planning team, explains the process. Unsealing areas not only contributes to a more beautiful and livable environment, but also promotes biodiversity by providing habitat for plants, birds, and other animals, increasing the variety of species in the city.

Citizens can actively participate in this endeavour. By opening sealed areas of courtyards and driveways or converting gravel gardens back into green spaces, they can help reduce soil pollution, protect the urban climate, and strengthen flood protection. The picked-up stones or gravel will be processed and used in construction measures for flood protection.

Before-and-after photos should be taken and uploaded to bodenluft.net for the competition. The city portal's urban planning team is involved in the process of unsealing areas and managing the collected materials.

The improvement of the urban climate is one of the effects of unsealing areas, as it can lower the temperature and provide a more pleasant climate, especially on hot days. Unsealed areas also allow better infiltration of rainwater, reducing flooding and promoting groundwater recharge.

The initiative to unseal areas and make cities greener originated in the Netherlands and has been successful there. In individual cases, stones or gravel can be picked up after consultation with Bernd Kruse from the city portal's urban planning team. Prior arrangement is essential due to the city's lack of larger storage areas for these materials.

The collected stones from unsealed areas in Detmold can be disposed of as uncontaminated construction waste through recycling centres Hellsiek on the Hellsiek landfill or Maibolte at the Lemgo composting facility. Information about drop-off points, including opening hours, directions, and acceptable waste fractions, can be found on the Lippe Waste Management Association's website at abfall-lippe.de/abgabestellen.

Cash prizes and vouchers for a garden center of your choice can be won in the competition. Moreover, this initiative contributes to Detmold's goal of remaining the greenest city in Germany.

Join the movement and help make Detmold a greener and more beautiful city. Let's work together for a sustainable future.

This press release is from the city portal.