Freudenberg Castle, a certified place of learning for education for sustainable development, has a great and varied offer for its visitors. And of course it is gladly accepted by some schools in the city and the surrounding area. But what about the schools in the immediate vicinity of Freudenberg Castle, in the neighboring districts of "Märchenland" and "Schelmengraben"? From here, the route to the castle is very short. Often you don't even need to get on the bus. But at the same time, many people with financial difficulties live here who cannot easily afford entry to the castle and the park surrounding the castle. Only if the schools' support associations work well and successfully can the children from these families visit the castle with their school classes. And this is exactly where the "Zukunftswiese" project idea comes in.

How would it be if pupils from schools in the immediate social area of Schloss Freudenberg were to make the landscape area, which has been developed from a conventional field into a meadow and pasture area, into "their future meadow"? Here there are hedges, bushes, solitary trees, orchards and a herb, flower and vegetable garden. The life of everything that crawls and flies is correspondingly rich: reptiles, butterflies, wild bees, beetles, songbirds and many other animals. And there is a wild fruit forest edge that the children could rejuvenate and supplement over the winter. But that's not all: There are also many other opportunities on the meadow for the children to get their hands dirty and have direct and, above all, sensory experiences in and with nature.

For various reasons, we were convinced by the project idea of Schloss Freudenberg. We have therefore been supporting the project since autumn 2023 and would very much like to expand our cooperation further. At the beginning of March we had the opportunity to take part in one of the educational workshops with a 4th grade class from the Schelmengraben elementary school. A great experience - for us too!