We are Jill Kuntke and Hannah Koch and are doing a Voluntary Ecological Year in the working groups "Aquatic Ecology and Nature Conservation" and "Vegetation Science and Nature Conservation" from September 2011 to August 2012.

On this page we report on our work.

What is a Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ)?

The FÖJ is a voluntary service for young people in jobs in the fields of environmental education, nature conservation, animal and plant care and biological research. In Lower Saxony, the Alfred Töepfer Academy (NNA) manages the FÖJ and accompanies the volunteers through 5 seminars, among other things. The year serves as career orientation and is an opportunity to get involved in environmental protection and environmental education. The volunteers also have the chance to organise an independent project. This year we organised a poetry environmental slam, the proceeds of which went to a regional little owl project for fruit trees run by NABU Oldenburg. Here are our fields of activity: Gnat project: Gnats are mosquitoes. Due to the problem that mosquitoes can transmit diseases to cows, for example, the aquatic ecology working group is studying the breeding biology of these vectors in cow pats. To this end, we collected cow dung from two farms in the Oldenburg region over a period of around 3 months and incubated it in so-called eclectors and alcoholised it for preservation. We then checked three times a week to see what animals were hatching from the patties. These included beetles, flies and mosquitoes. To prevent the larvae and eggs from drying out, the patties were also watered. Under the binoculars, we then sorted out the interesting mosquitoes (which can transmit diseases) and preserved them. Some of the cow patties were also frozen or doused with water. Our investigations showed that the frost had no major effect on the animals, but that the damming prevented the mosquitoes from hatching. The already preserved cow pats were (partially) dammed with sugar solution. The difference in density between the saturated sugar solution and the gnat larvae filled with water causes the larvae to emerge. These can then be easily searched. Contrary to what might have been feared, working with the cow dung was not too unappetising and gloves were at hand if necessary. However, finding the areas again using GPS was a bit of an adventure on some of the rainy days. Trench project (Master's thesis): At the beginning of our year, we were involved in a Master's thesis in Ag Aquatic Ecology, which focussed on the flora in drainage ditches. We were involved in both the sampling and the laboratory work. The main aim of the work was to investigate the diversity of species in the ditches and, if possible, to categorise them into communities. The ditches are used to drain the grassland and are located on both intensively used fields and less utilised areas. To ensure drainage, the ditches are regularly cleaned, whereby, depending on the method and frequency, a major intervention in the "ditch ecosystem" takes place. In the field phase, we measured the abiotic parameters of the water, such as pH value, conductivity and oxygen content. On the other hand, we used a tube to take samples. To do this, the tube was moved into the sludge and the water surface was scooped out up to the sludge. We took the animals it contained to the laboratory. After washing the samples again in the laboratory, we sorted out the individual animal families. The Master's student then identified them further and analysed the results. Overall, this gave us a good insight into the fauna groups of small bodies of water. Some animals turned out to be pretty, others, like the water bugs, led to small discussions about extraterrestrial life among us =) Dragonfly project (doctoral thesis): In the dragonfly project, populations of two dragonfly species were and are being recorded and analysed over several years. In the Oldenburg region, we analysed drainage ditches where the green mosaic dragonfly occurs. This dragonfly is very rare due to its special adaptation to the aquatic plant crab claw. It only uses dense crab claw stands to lay its eggs, which are also not necessarily common. Our task here was to record water parameters (e.g. oxygen content, pH value but also ditch width and mud thickness) with the doctoral student and to observe the animals in summer and collect their hatching shells (exuviae). The numbers of exuviae will then be analysed in the laboratory and compared with the following years. The second dragonfly species is also rare and is called the helmeted damselfly (see photo). These small dragonflies are blue-black (females partly greenish) and have a "Viking helmet"-like pattern on their body. The study area is located on the Stemweder Bergs (near Minden), so unfortunately we had a relatively long journey to get there. We caught the damselflies with landing nets and identified them so that a population estimate could be made. We also recorded ditch parameters here. It was very exciting to be able to take a closer look at the dragonflies and to familiarise ourselves with their ecology. In addition to the sometimes hot weather, some regional incidents also caused some excitement. Plant mapping: One of the projects in the vegetation science working group that we supported was plant mapping in permanent observation areas. We travelled with Professor Buchwald to some forest areas and lakes and examined areas for the plants that occur. In the forest, the plants in the areas had been removed at the beginning of the study and now we were looking to see which plants had re-established themselves. We also examined a forest that is inhabited by a large population of wild boar (the forest is fenced in). The aim here was to find out whether fenced areas produce more tree growth than areas that are freely accessible to the animals. In the lakes, we looked for special aquatic plants and recorded water parameters. In some cases, we also removed cattails that were preventing the spread of our target species. Impressive events were, for example, the encounter of wild boars with young pigs (we were able to convince Mr Buchwald not to examine them up close) and a key search (it was well positioned on the car roof while we searched the ground underneath). I also found a beautiful root that will decorate my room. Bird pens (ARDINI): This is a project to create "apps" for identifying and mapping dragonflies and birds. The project has been running for some time, so our predecessors have also been working on it (especially the dragonflies). Our task was to write a description of the birds that were to be identified in the field. To do this, we had some identification literature and compiled the plumage, call, special flight patterns and special behaviour for the individual birds. The app was designed in cooperation with the university's Computing Science department and also includes a questionnaire for recording animals seen. After tests in the field, the app will be made available to interested parties. In addition to some PC problems, we also had a long list of strange vocalisations. We are looking forward to the final product. Cuttings project: During this project, the cuttings were taken from species-rich and valuable green areas (donor areas) and distributed to similar but species-poorer areas (recipient areas). The aim was to test whether the species from the donor areas would become established in the recipient area. To this end, studies were carried out over 5-8 years. To analyse the data, large lists of the plant species on the various plots were made. From this we were then able to draw conclusions about the transfer rate and the like and visualise them graphically in Excel. Our professor (Rainer Buchwald) uses these graphs for the final report of the project. E-fishing: In combination with the master's thesis of the trench project, a bachelor's thesis on the fish in the trenches was carried out. This was done with an e-fishing device from the university, so that the ditch sections were briefly energised and the confused fish were collected with landing nets. After surveying, we released all the animals back into the wild. In addition to the weight of the e-fish device, we were particularly surprised by the large number of eels in the water. These slippery animals, which fled forwards and backwards, were not at all easy to measure. University seminars: We were able to gain a good insight into university life during a number of events organised by the biology department. Among other things, we attended a seminar on nature conservation, a plant identification course (where Hannah is also taking the written exam and can probably get credit for it) and a lecture on flower meadows by our Professor Buchwald. Hannah attended a Master's course with Mrs Kiel. This involved analysing the fauna of an area with mainly temporary bodies of water and practising scientific work. NAJU: In cooperation with NABU Oldenburg, we looked after a NABU youth group aged 11-14. In addition to felting and geocashing, we also organised a nice rally in Everstenholz. Unfortunately, there were fewer and fewer young people and even flyers and newspaper announcements did not help to rebuild the group. Green School: The Green School is a project linked to the university in the Botanical Garden. Here, children's groups are offered programmes on nature topics and nature is made tangible. Our involvement was limited to an open day where several university institutions offered children's programmes. In the tropical house, we looked after visitors, handed out questionnaires and looked for the croaking frogs so that the children could catch a glimpse of the strange animals. Despite the cold weather and snow outside, we had a cosy time in the tropical house and some lovely children visiting. Our independent project was a poetry slam (poetry competition) in favour of fruit trees for the NABUwiese Oldenburg. So we organised an evening with Nabu and Unikum Oldenburg (student union stage) where nature conservation was eloquent and funny. We wanted to draw attention to regional projects and show that nature conservation is not always hard work. After some hard work in preparation and a bit of stress at the end, we managed the task of bringing poerty slammers and the audience together in the Unikumsbühne on 21 April 2012 and putting on a good evening. There were quite a lot of visitors and we were able to plant 11 high-quality fruit trees, which are now standing in a meadow orchard near Oldenburg. The slam was a good experience and a lot of fun. That alone made the year a success, but we also learnt about many other interesting projects.