Planting trees, collecting rubbish, showing ways to achieve climate neutrality, looking after nesting sites, moving around without cars – people in the Munich district for whom environmental and climate protection is a matter close to their hearts are involved in a variety of ways. The district office has now honored nine citizens who have done outstanding and voluntary work for the environment and the climate: They received a badge of honor from the Munich district, a certificate of honor and a gift basket with regional products. In addition, they were each recognized with their own image films. The aim is to “promote a critical discussion of environmental problems in a publicly effective way and to show possible ways of effectively eliminating these problems,” says the district office. However, as in the previous year, the environmental ceremony did not take place as a face-to-face event due to the corona pandemic.
Those honored include Christian Ellerhold, Annika Gehrmann, Michael Garding and Jens Coldewey from the Neubiberger initiative “Klimaneutral 2035”. The initiative launched in July 2020 and officially founded on November 12, 2020 aims to ensure that the community of Neubiberg becomes climate-neutral in the areas of electricity, heat and mobility by 2035. Almost 200 people support the initiative. The focus is, among other things, on a climate protection concept with a concrete roadmap for realizing projects. Important here: public relations including advertising for the advantages of the energy transition and the creation of framework conditions for realizing climate neutrality in the private, commercial and public sectors. So far, guidelines for purchasing and operating photovoltaic systems have been drawn up, a demonstration, school lessons and online events have been organized.
Furthermore, there are Jacqueline Harenberg and Birgit Krauß from Pullach as representatives of “Car-free – I’ll be there!” among the honored. According to this motto, pupils at the Pullach elementary school have not used their parents’ car delivery service for three weeks every year since 2012. Instead, they come to school by bike, scooter, bus or on foot. A large number of “car-free” kilometers were collected and CO₂ emissions were saved. The competition is organized by the parents’ council. In addition, trees are planted in the municipality together with the winning classes every year, which are adapted to local climatic conditions as well as to future climatic developments.
Keeping nature clean is Roman Hackl’s life’s work. The Ayinger, who was also awarded, has been collecting garbage in the municipality of Aying and the surrounding area for several years – and all of this with his bike and trailer. He has already covered more than 6000 kilometers. On Saturdays, Sundays or other non-working days, he is out and about between three and six hours a day to keep forests and fields clean.
Helmut Meyer from Ismaning, on the other hand, has been doing voluntary research on the breeding biology, population dynamics and behavior of the barn owl in the Munich gravel plain since 1991. He was able to “successfully stabilize this small owl species, whose occurrence in southern Bavaria is limited to the Alpine region and the Munich gravel plain, through the provision and maintenance of around 300 artificial caves in the forests of the Munich district and the neighboring districts and document their existence and breeding success”, praises the district office. Meyer can also rely on voluntary supporters who support him in looking after the nesting boxes.
Klaus-Peter Schubert from Unterhaching was also recognized for his commitment. He is a founding member of Bürger-Energie-Unterhaching and has been on the cooperative’s supervisory board since 2012. As a long-standing member of the local association of the Federal Nature Conservation Association, he is responsible for membership administration, the newsletter and the accompaniment of individual projects such as the Hachinger Bach hike, the Hachinger Bach app or the construction of insect hotels with school classes. He is also active in the local Agenda 21, was a member of the speaker group and project member in the initiative “Increase of care capacities in the community of Unterhaching” and in the working group “Nature and Landscape”.
The films of all the honorees can be found online at www.landkreis-muenchen.de/themen/energie-und-klimaschutz/klimaschutz-zum-mitmachen/umweltehrung/umweltehrung-2021/ .