The students and the Canadian gold

It's Monday morning and time to go on a treasure hunt! First, however, the students who are helping us with the search have to be picked up at the bus stop. After a short greeting, we make our way to the weekly accommodation, a remote farm with animals, a soccer field and much more.

After moving into the accommodation, we get on our bikes and cycle towards Thurauen. The largest floodplain area in the Swiss Mittelland is known for its orchid meadows and the presence of the rare kingfisher, one of the most beautiful bird species in Switzerland.

But now to our treasure hunt. It's easier than you might think. Unfortunately, it's not real gold, but Canadian goldenrod. This exotic species doesn't actually belong in Switzerland, but it's spreading rapidly here. That's why it poses a threat to our native flora and fauna.

Together with 20 young people, we declare war on the goldenrod. Every morning we set off for the nature reserve, armed with compost sacks and work gloves. Various team building and environmental education inputs offer variety. The days fly by and soon it will be Friday. Time to look proudly at the piled up mountains of goldrod and to head off, tired but happy, into the well-earned weekend. This effort was of inestimable value to nature.