Under the direction of Dr Frank Ahlhorn and Dipl.-Ing. Jan Spiekermann, a joint excursion to Schouwen-Duiveland took place on 6 and 7 March 2012 for the Master's degree course "Water and Coastal Management" and the climate impact research project KLIFF-IMPLAN, which is based at the working group. The island, located in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, sees itself as a "laboratory" for the development of adaptation strategies to the consequences of climate change. In addition to visiting various projects, the group met with regional experts at a workshop on site. The programme included topics from the fields of coastal protection, water management, nature conservation, agriculture and the development of settlements, infrastructure and tourism.

The team from the "Species Recording Digitally in Lower Saxony (ARDINI)" project is organising the ARDINI status seminar together with the Lower Saxony Nature Conservation Academy on 23/24 April 2012 at Camp Reinsehlen near Schneverdingen. The main component of the symposium is the presentation of new software developments for recording birds and dragonflies with mobile devices in the field. In addition to the presentations, there will also be a live demonstration to show the process from data collection to standardised export. High-ranking representatives from the field of nature conservation have also been recruited for the event. Guest speakers from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and various state authorities will join project participants in presenting and discussing the use of digital media such as apps and WebGIS in data collection. The organisers include the IBU of the University of Oldenburg, the IAPG (Jade University of Applied Sciences), NABU Oldenburger Land e.V. and the company IP SYSCON GmbH from Hanover. Information about the project can be found on the website www.ardini.de. The flyer for the conference can be downloaded as pdf, registrations can be made immediately.

The successfully completed dissertation by Ms Agnes Kriszan, supervised by the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group , on the topic "Between external determination and self-development. Civil society actors as an endogenous resource for the development of rural-peripheral small towns in Poland" has been honoured with the Scientific Award of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in the Federal Republic of Germany! The working group would like to congratulate Agnes Kriszan on this special award!

On the so-called "Future Day" for schools on 26 April 2012, the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group was visited by two pupils from Bremen: Nora Ruthke and Lukas Mose (both 14 years old) spent a whole day in Oldenburg and gained an impression of how the university operates and the diverse research and teaching tasks of the working group. Their visit also included a "side trip" to the Vegetation Science and Nature Conservation working group, where they were also able to gain an insight into various research topics and methods. Visibly impressed, the guests made their way back to Bremen after an 8-hour day.

Under the theme "Stormy times: The nature conservation and environmental protection movement in the Oldenburg region in the 1960s to 1980s", the 2nd regional conference on the history of nature conservation in the Oldenburg region will take place on Thursday, 19 and Friday, 20 April 2012. The venue is the Alter Landtag, Oldenburg; Theodor-Tantzen-Platz 8. You can find more information here and a registration form here.

The well-known human geographer Prof Dr Peter Weichhart has retired from the University of Vienna. To mark the occasion, the Institute for Geography and Regional Research there has published an "Anthology of Social Geography" in honour of Peter Weichhart, with contributions from several authors from Austria and abroad. The volume also contains a joint contribution by Ingo Mose (Oldenburg) and Norbert Weixlbaumer (Vienna) on the paradigm shift in area protection, with particular reference to experiences in the Hohe Tauern National Park. The volume can be ordered from the author at an author's discount.

For the second time, around 20 students of geography, spatial planning, environmental sciences and landscape ecology from the universities of Oldenburg, Bremen and Groningen met for a trilateral colloquium from 1 to 3 June 2012. This time it took place at the University of Bremen and was organised by the Institute of Geography there. Several lecturers from the three partner universities also took part, including Peter Schaal and Ingo Mose from the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group in Oldenburg. The students used the workshop to present outstanding Bachelor's, Master's and project theses, all of which focussed on environmental and spatial development issues in the German-Dutch coastal region. The spectrum of topics ranged from tourism on the West Frisian Islands and in Rheiderland to current problems in shrimp fishing and the accumulation of microplastic waste on the coasts of the North Sea. The programme was rounded off by a guided tour of Bremen's historic old town and the Überseestadt area, the new district being built in the area of the former city ports of Bremen. The next trilateral workshop will take place at the University of Oldenburg in 2013.

At the invitation of the Centre for Rural Economy, Prof. Dr Ingo Mose gave a lecture at Newcastle University, England, on 25 June 2012. He spoke on the topic "Large protected areas in Germany: 'dynamic parks' for sustainable development?" The Centre for Rural Economy focuses on researching issues of rural regional development and several colleagues are also working on the role of large protected areas for sustainable regional development. In the subsequent discussion of the lecture, various perspectives of comparative international case study research were recognised, for which interest was expressed by both the English and German sides. You can download the presentation as a pdf file here.

As part of the seminar "Protected areas and regional development", 19 students from the Master's degree programmes in Landscape Ecology and Sustainability Economics and Management, led by Ingo Mose, explored the Hamme-Wümme lowlands on bicycles on Friday, 13 July. Along the way, the group also met up with Dr Gerhard Kulp from the Osterholz Biological Station, who gave a talk on the current challenges of nature conservation in the region. Dr Stuart Downward from Kingston University London, with whom Ingo Mose's working group maintains close professional contacts, accompanied the group as a special guest. He was interested in the possibility of offering the excursion to students from London in the future.

On 1 August, Ms Agnes Kriszan from Neustrelitz successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the School V - School of Mathematics and Science at the University of Oldenburg. The title of her dissertation is: "Between external determination and self-development: civil society actors as an endogenous resource for the development of rural-peripheral small towns in Poland". Agenes Kriszan was supervised by Prof Dr Ingo Mose from the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning Group, IBU. The second supervisor and reviewer of her thesis was Prof Dr Joachim Burdack from the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig. Prof. Dr Rainer Buchwald from IBU was also involved in the thesis defence.

As part of the European Union's "Life Long Learning" programme, Prof. Dr Ingo Mose and the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group have been awarded a Jean Monnet Chair for "Europeanisation and Sustainable Spatial Development". The title came into effect on 1 September and was awarded for a period of three years. The award is also associated with financial support for projects in teaching and research that address issues relating to the European dimension of spatial development.

On 21 November 2012, participants of the seminar "Multifunctionality and rural development", led by Ingo Mose, went on a bicycle excursion to explore selected phenomena of rural structural change on the southern outskirts of Bremen. Agriculture, housing, commerce, transport, recreation and nature conservation provided the students with a variety of starting points for a lively discussion "on site".

The Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group ended the year with a joint cake lunch with delicacies from the Moorriemer Landcafe. The working group would like to thank the rural women from the Wesermarsch and wishes all co-operation partners near and far a Merry Christmas and a happy new year 2013!