Vienna Plants First "Mini Forest" in the City Area
More green in a densely built-up area as a climate-friendly recreational oasis for people and animals is what every city needs. With the "Wiener Wäldchen", a pilot project is being launched in Stefan Weber Park on the border between the 5th and 12th districts, a "mini forest" in the urban area.
The 'Wiener Wäldchen' is a pilot project and will in any case reproduce itself several times in the city in the future. / Picture: © Magistrat der Stadt Wien / PID / David Bohmann
The 'Wiener Wäldchen', as the mini-forest is called in German, is a dense, rapidly growing mini-forest the size of a tennis court that is planted in an inner-city area. The grove is intended to have a positive effect on the microclimate, provides habitat for native animal and plant species, and offers people an intensive experience of nature right on their doorstep. In the long term, the grove will also show which trees and shrubs are best able to cope with climate change.
The Stefan Weber Park on the border of the 5th and 12th districts is the first: Named after the late musician and founder of "Drahdiwaberl", the roots of the first "Wiener Wäldchen" (little Viennese forest) were planted here. Together with foresters of the city, Viennese students planted a new small forest in the middle of the urban area. Today, the "mini-forest" was planted together with Climate City Councillor Jürgen Czernohorszky.
The trees and shrubs were planted closely on a nutrient-rich 280 square meters of soil and will therefore grow relatively quickly. "The Wiener Wäldchen not only lowers the temperature of the immediate surroundings after a few years through evaporative cooling, but also contributes to improving urban biodiversity," said Climate City Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky.
The project is implemented and supervised by the Forestry and Agriculture Department, the Environmental Protection Department and the Vienna City Gardens.