The old depot is situated in the central part of the Oldenburg Botanical Garden. The former workshop building and the surrounding area are ideally suited to establishing a ‘Green School’ – long sought after by the university’s botanists and biology educators – for on-site teaching for all school years, youth groups and teacher training. The go-ahead has now been given for the establishment of a ‘Green School’. The ‘Ilex’ Friends’ Association and the Botanical Garden have raised funds for the first phase of construction. Construction work is due to begin in spring 2008. The ‘Ilex’ Friends’ Association is seeking further sponsors to support the garden’s ongoing development into a centre for teaching, research and public education. At the same time, the university is providing central funding and tuition fees for a doctoral candidate in biology education to develop and evaluate teaching modules and experiments suitable for both nursery children and pupils of all school types, as well as for undergraduates and trainee teachers in the subject of biology, enabling them to to engage effectively with nature through inquiry and discovery in this extracurricular learning environment. The Botanical Garden is an ideal venue for nature and environmental education, as much of what has been covered theoretically at school can be observed and understood here through real-life examples. The following teaching topics could be explored at the ‘Green School’:

• From the Desert to the Rainforest
• Focus on tropical crops
• Early-flowering plants (March to May)
• Leaves, fruits and seeds in autumn (September to October)
• Native trees in the park and woodland
• Exotic trees
• Climate and vegetation zones of the world
• Tropical rainforest
• Tropical crops
• Adaptation of plants to the Earth’s climate and vegetation zones
• Adaptation (evolution) of plants to tropical habitats
• Flower ecology/co-evolution (pollination by insects, birds and bats)
• Tropical rainforest with a focus on ecology

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr Peter Janiesch, or the administration office. Guided tours and events as part of the “Green School” programme can already be arranged . Please contact Ulrike Geers () or the administration office.