On October 14, 2022, the working group met for the first time this year. Topics were the follow-up of the Planting Planner Days 2022 as well as the preparation of the Planting Planner Days 2023, the upcoming change of expert speakers and the certification of plant knowledge at the Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences.

The Plant Planner Days 2022 have been held very successfully online with more than 350 participants:inside. Unfortunately, Prof. Swantje Duthweiler was unable to moderate and participate due to illness. Dr. Susanne Böll and Dr. Phillip Schönfeld, both from the Bavarian Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture, stood in for her with expertise and knowledge.

The working group also discussed possible topics, speakers and excursions for the 2023 event. The next Plant Planners' Days will be held as part of the BUGA in Mannheim, Germany, on June 16 and 17, 2023.

Prof. Swantje Duthweiler reported that she would like to relinquish her role as spokesperson for plant use in the medium term. Due to her board function in bdla Bavaria and her teaching activities, it is no longer possible for her in terms of time to continue in the role of spokesperson. She offers, however, to accompany the planning of the advanced training 2023 and/or to prepare.

Furthermore, Prof. Swantje Duthweiler reported on the student certification certificate for plant knowledge, a so-called "species identification certificate". The first certification tests, as a test run at the Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences, have already taken place. One can complete the "Artenkennerschein" in bronze, silver or gold, depending on one's knowledge. For this, identification exercises and instructional films for self-study and in presence are planned. The level and the number of plants to be identified increases from bronze to gold. A coordination of the relevant plant list with the universities is still pending. In the future, the topic of animal ecology will also be included.

As a next step, it is planned to introduce the species identification certificate via the virtual university of Bavaria as a standard.

Source: bdla association magazine "Landschaftsarchitekten" 4/2022

Latitude: 0

Longitude: 0