Press release

dated October 30, 2026, No. 181

Soil.Culture.Education: How Art and Nature Enrich Learning About Soils

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen/Nantesbuch. How can the topic of soil be more firmly integrated into the region’s educational efforts? And what role can art and culture play in this? About 30 participants addressed these questions at the 9th network meeting of the Oberland Network for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which took place in the fall of 2026 at Gut Nantesbuch under the theme “Soil.Culture.Education.” In addition to network members, representatives from politics and public administration, as well as other education stakeholders from the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district and neighboring municipalities, took part.

The event kicked off with a field trip to the permaculture garden of the Art and Nature Foundation. Laura Demmelmeier presented the garden, which spans about one hectare, and its basic principles. She explained how the garden contributes to promoting biodiversity and building up humus. At the same time, she highlighted ways to use the garden for educational programs, such as training sessions for outreach educators.

Artist Frank Fischer then demonstrated how the topic of soil can also be explored artistically through his project “wERDschätzung.” With the help of a fabric frame, participants were able to get hands-on and experiment with a creative approach to living soils.

The official part of the meeting took place at the Langes Haus on the foundation’s grounds. As a new network partner, the Art and Nature Foundation provided a fitting setting for the event. The film “Living Soils” introduced the importance of living soils and highlighted how closely they are connected to our environment, our society, and our daily lives. The film will also be made available for the foundation’s own educational work in the future.

Following that, Réka Rozsnyói, a research associate at the foundation, presented the EU project “SOIL:OurInvisibleAlly,” in which the foundation is participating. Sinan von Stietencron explained how art and culture can raise awareness of nature, support science communication, and convey knowledge about soils in a vivid way. The Soil Culture Toolbox was also introduced, featuring educational materials suitable for hands-on educational activities.

The participants then discussed the opportunities this presents for the region in a World Café session. Together, they developed ideas on how the topic of soil could be given greater consideration in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the district and exchanged views on potential collaborations.

“The network meeting impressively demonstrated the many ways in which the topic of soil can be integrated into educational programs. In particular, the combination of nature experiences, artistic approaches, and scientific education opens up new perspectives for education for sustainable development and provides valuable impetus for collaboration in our region,” emphasizes Felix Schreiber, climate protection officer at the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen District Office.

Sabine Schmid
Press spokeswoman
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen District Office