A few years ago the pharmacist Eva Guse was still a rather apolitical person. “Politics existed for me, but it was not relevant or meaningful in my life,” she says. Her attitude changed, of course, after the city council of her hometown Neumarkt-St. Veit had decided to redesign the town square with funds from urban development as part of the renewal of the sewer system. Many citizens did not like the modernization that the city council decided in 2019. A referendum followed, in which the city nevertheless prevailed with its proposal.
Guse would have liked a gentler conversion. In which, for example, the typical red clinker brick would have been preserved. Because Neumarkt is located in a loam area, clinker bricks were used to pave the walking area a hundred years ago. “It’s part of our story,” says Guse. Instead, as in so many places, expensive granite is now being used. The city advertises with the argument that there are now oases of peace to increase the quality of stay.
The linden trees that line the town square also have to give way. Eva Guse and her husband Christian therefore founded a citizens’ network that wants to save and transplant at least the largest linden tree. The city has nothing against it, but it demands that the association must finance the transplanting campaign itself. This is not a stick of cardboard, after all, the winter linden is more than 60 years old and relatively large-crowned. Only a few specialist companies are even able to transplant such a colossus; in such cases it is often uncertain whether it will succeed. Nevertheless, Eva Guse says: “We would like to give this linden a chance to continue to produce oxygen, to bind carbon dioxide and to serve as pasture for insects.” She estimates that at least a hundred young trees with a crown volume of one cubic meter would have to be planted to replace this winter linden tree.
Transplanting is challenging for many reasons. So it has to be explored beforehand whether power cables or lines touch the roots of the linden tree, whether the load-bearing capacity of the bridges can cope with the loads of the 38-ton truck and whether the streets are wide enough. The main problem of the “Linde 21” project, however, is the financing, which should be done through donations. It’s about the sum of 7777.21 euros. The cost estimate by the specialist company is just under 6,000 euros. However, surprises underground could quickly increase costs. Last but not least, a new location is needed quickly. For example, the concentration camp memorial near the city would be suitable. Ultimately, the choice depends on the amount of the donation, because every kilometer of transport costs 100 euros.
Now time is of the essence. The city wants to know by September 15 whether the “Linde 21” campaign will take place. Until then, says Eva Guse, “we have to have the money together.” If the sum is not enough, the association wants to pass on the donated money to the Mühldorf district group of the Federal Nature Conservation Union and the State Federation for Bird Protection, which also support the “Linde 21” campaign (further information: phone 08639-985580).