An environmental mission as a start to the first year of training

At the beginning of August 2021, we were able to hold two environmental education days with 50 students from ETH Zurich. The young people from a wide range of professional backgrounds had only officially started their training a few days earlier and were therefore still a little nervous when they arrived.

This initial nervousness quickly subsided when we started with a game of getting to know each other in the middle of the Hönggerberg forest. After that, we got started in small groups. In addition to goldenrod and balsam, the program also included the removal of buddleia and bluebell trees. Equipped with saws and pickaxes, the young people got stuck in and at the end of the two days an incredible 4.5 tons of material had been taken to the green waste disposal. In addition to the work, we also concentrated on the topic of nature conservation and biodiversity. In the workshop, the young people discussed the sense and nonsense of combating neobiota in detail and got to know the forest and its living creatures better on a short excursion.

The weather wasn't always great on this mission either, but who would have expected 15 degrees and rain in August? The young people didn't let the short rain showers bother them, and by the end of the two days of the mission, friendships had obviously been formed and the trainees are now starting their professional lives as a close-knit group.