What's new from campus

The EU GREEN team at OVGU would like to introduce you to Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Our new biodiversity artwork is a seating area that uses a bit of cardboard, soil and teamwork to create an ideal place to relax in nature.

Opposite this comfortable seat for humans, there is a cozy place for insects. Instead of grass, the second chair is equipped with native, insect-friendly plants, which are intended to promote biodiversity. When you sit on the lifeless lawn chair and watch life flourish in the chair with native plants, you get a sense of how different plants influence the life of insects.

The project was inspired by the so-called “TERRA! “, a grass armchair by an Italian designer duo. It shows that sustainability can also be found in outdoor furniture and can look strikingly unique. The idea to bring this concept to EU GREEN originated in Jarandilla, Spain. Here, EU GREEN Alliance member Stefan Weidner was invited to take part in a workshop on the “Insectopia” project.

Insectopia is an EU GREEN initiative for students, scientists and the local community with the aim of uniting people and nature. Once a small campaign that was responsible for making bee hotels on university campuses possible, it has now grown into a dynamic interdisciplinary commitment in which academic knowledge meets practical applications.

In the Biodiversity Workshop, a seven-person international team worked together to create a sustainable space for biodiversity. It should be possible to build this on every campus of the nine EU GREEN universities. Despite initial difficulties faced by a team whose members have different areas of expertise, the concept of the grass chair around Stefan Weidner's team was rewarded with second place.

Back in Magdeburg, the concept was implemented directly with the help of hard-working hands. A biodiversity area can now be found at the new EUGREEN Alliance pavilion at OVGU. Together with the TERRA Grass armchairs, this provides space for plants and animals and serves as a source of information for discussions and on the topic of EU GREEN.

If you are interested and would like to find out more about our workshops or partner universities, feel free to visit us during our office hours in the EU GREEN Pavilion:

Monday: 10:00 — 12:00 with our student representatives Ian Avercamp and Anne von Busse
Wednesday: 13:00 — 15:00 with our community manager Alexandra Reilly