uni'alumni 2013_ENG

Photos(3):Feldwisch-Drentrup Dr. Heinrich Schwendemann is a lecturer and academic advisor at the Department of History: “I inherited two fields with old fruit trees in the valley of the Kinzig River. Most of the orchards in my native town fell victim to the consolidation of cropland in the 1980s. In order to preserve the traditional cultivars, I replace dead trees with old varieties and leave some of the hollow trees to hornets, which is the best way of all to protect plants. Working in the orchards is also a great way for me to get my mind off of academic work at the weekend. I distill the surplus fruit into schnapps – 52 percent alcohol, in keeping with an age-old Black Forest tradition. We have also implemented energy-saving initiatives at the Department of History and have already won two awards for them.” Sadhbh Juárez Bourke from Spain is a student in the master’s program Environmental Governance: “Some of my classmates and I have staged a play on sustainable consumption several times since February 2012. Our goal was and still is to increase awareness for global environmental problems in a creative way and from a holistic perspective. We want to reach the audience on an emotional level and get them to identify with the topic and question their own behavior. The message is that everyone can change something – all you need to do is apply your own capabilities to the task. I’m glad we’ve managed to make academic knowledge attractive: The play has already been staged by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Bonn.” Dr. Marcus Siefert serves as climate protection manager at the University of Freiburg: “At the university, I supervise a project called ‘Decentralized Monetary Incentives’ that rewards departments for saving energy at the workplace: We give them back around half of what they have saved to use as they please. The most important thing is to approach the people person- ally and ask them what they think could be improved in their building. That improves awareness and increases motivation. In addition, the university is switching over to green electricity in 2013. We will be purchasing it directly over the electricity market – that saves carbon dioxide as well as money and is thus sustainable in a double sense. As far as my private contribution is concerned, I really like regional energy strategies with public participation models. I can imagine buying a stake in the new wind farm planned on Schauinsland.” Meike Bischoff studied Spanish and Portuguese in Freiburg and now works at Radio Dreyeckland: “A year and a half ago I joined GartenCoop Freiburg, a group dedicated to growing vegeta- bles organically and autonomously in a post-fossil fuel society. In contrast to the globalized food production industry, we want to realize sustainability through solidarity: Each member contributes according to her or his own capabilities, whether that means donating money or helping out in the garden. We plant a lot of old cultivars or forgotten cross-breeds. At Radio- Dreyeckland I have also produced a monthly program on developmental policy and fair-trade projects since April 2012.” SURVEY Green Energy, Theater, and Old Cultivars Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup asked around to find out what Freiburgers are doing to promote a sustainable lifestyle in their “Green City.” uni'alumni 2013 University News 29

uni'alumni 2013_ENG

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