TNOC Festival 2024

During this tour, we will stroll through the project area of Fluss Bad Berlin alongside the Spree Canal in the heart of Berlin. Get to know more about the history, objectives and current challenges of this urban development project which aims on (1) preserving and extending public space(s) in the heart of Berlin (2) protecting and improving the city’s natural ressources, especially water bodies (3) and last but not least: transforming the Spree Canal into a natural swimming zone.

• Meeting point: Südliche Monbijoubrücke, Am Kupfergraben 3, 10117 Berlin (https://maps.app.goo.gl/pLmX5o6gSBteLKbA6)

To visit sites of diverse urban natures across Berlin prompting discussion between hosts, stakeholders and participants about the relationships, politics and possibilities for human/nonhuman co-existence in cities. This field trip seeks to ground and extend the urban manifesto drafted in the seed session, ‘What does a more-than-human city “look” like?’, through participation with attendees and site representatives in Berlin’s cityscape.

We will meet at the gates of Atelier Gardens at 9.30am and finish at 12 noon near UllsteinStr. there is a bus that runs to Herrmannstr. to return. The walk is around 2.5km and covers paved paths, grassy surfaces and some uneven ground. There is one place with steep steps going down, and then back up again (though this section could be skipped). There are no toilets on the route. Please dress for the weather.

The group will meet at Atelier Gardens at the Yellow Building near the coffee shop inside the yellow building.


Oberlandstraße 26-35, 12099 Berlin, Germany

Google link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/CzLj2LdrSQNREMLK8



 

We explore nature-themed murals during an interactive and informative tour in one of Berlin's alternative neighborhoods. During the tour, you will spot impressive elephants, birds, dart frogs, mountain and underwater landscapes. Berlin is is one of Europe's capitals of street art and graffiti, and we picked some of the most thought-provoking for you, ranging from tourist favourites to hidden gems. Together, we ask what insights street art can give us into human-environment relationships, and when art inspires us to take action!

The meeting point (09:00am) is in front of the “Hoodie Birds” mural by Don John at the “Mehringplatz”/ corner “Friedrichstrasse”, just at one of the exits of the subway station “Hallesches Tor”:

Google link: https://www.google.com/maps/@52.499675,13.3915409,3a,75y,191.29h,99.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smBXM6fft2KXe9Qh6w5T8cQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu

What to expect? Together we walk from Kreuzberg through Gleisdreieck Park to Schöneberg. On the way we stop and spot numerous murals and graffiti, find out interesting background information and discuss and exchange ideas with each other. You don't need a ticket for public transport, but you need good shoes :-) and a desire to see Berlin, nature and art. We will take a short refreshment break in the park; the tour ends near the “Urban Nation” street art museum.

Session contributors: Anna Stolyarova, Arne Kinds, Baiba Pruse, Embla Ekstrom, Geertje Tijsma, Ignacio Gianelli, Katina Roumbedakis, Ludovica Montecchio, Marien Helmus, Marta Dievina, Milena Arias-Schreiber, Natali Lazzari, Rihards Brazinskis, Sebastian Villasante, Sophia Kochalski, Svea Rogge, Tanja Straka

329 Wildbienenarten gibt es in Berlin. Wo nisten sie, welche Blüten fliegen sie an, und wie können sie gefördert werden? Frederik Rothe und das Team von "Mehr Bienen für Berlin - Berlin blüht auf" laden ein zu einer Entdeckertour auf den Spuren der Berliner Hauptstadtwildbienen.

Meeting point: 
We meet in front of the Museum of Natural History Berlin.
Right in front of the steps.

Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GkPhv6Y66jeADtdP8

Walk overgrown railroad tracks from Südgelände to Tempelhofer feld and greet novel, thriving post-industrial wilderness. While visiting some of my research sites, where plants evolve and invade from all over the world, you will hear tales of how post-war Berlin gave birth to new urban ecology research and how citizen grassroots movements are fighting to keep the city wild.

Meeting point:
 
We will meet on Friday at 9:00 at the Priesterweg S-bahn station (S2, S25, S26), by the entrance to the Naturpark Südgelände. Please bring change to purchase a 1 euro entrance ticket to the park (the ticket machine accept only coins). In my experience, it is likely that patrolling park rangers will want to check your tickets ;)

We will start walking around 9:20, so try to join us before that!We will first visit the Naturpark Südgelände for about an hour, and then take a break and see who wants to continue to the second part of the trip in Tempelhofer Feld, which will take another hour at least. For this we will need to take the S-bahn for a Kurzstrecke (short trip ticket) to Tempelhof S-bahn station.

Alternatively, those who do not wish to continue can also enjoy the Südgelände park café which is really nice and opens at 11:00!

The weather looks great for Friday, but of course we are in Berlin, so prepare for some rain just in case...
See you there! Maud

Give the opportunity to the people to get a garden tour in our community-learning gardens in Berlin-Wedding, himmelbeet with around 200 raised-beds and Elisabeet with his field and greenhouse in a cemetery in Soldiner Kiez.


Meeting Point: Berlin, Gartenstraße/ Ecke, Grenzstraße, 13355 Berlin
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gK3frcsyGUiht5Ub8

Tour a Polinator Garden at Museum für Naturkunde Berlin!

LAS Art Foundation planted the first international edition of Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg's 'Pollinator Pathmaker' in front of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. The artist’s living artwork for pollinating insects marks an urgent shift away from human-centred thinking. In the context of TNOC, LAS offers a guided tour of this sculpture made of plants.

Each sculpture in the 'Pollinator Pathmaker' series is designed using a custom-build algorithm, which computes garden schemes that support the maximum number of pollinator species possible. The LAS curators will present this impactful initiative in interspecies art that was created in responds to the alarming decline in pollinating insects, which are vital for many plants to reproduce and ecosystems to survive. The tour invites audiences to reflect on what art can be, who it is for, and on the urgency of moving beyond anthropocentric approaches and aesthetics in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises.

MEETING POINT:
Address: Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin

Prinzessinnengarten is a 15 year old community garden. A few years ago it relocated on a cemetery. We will talk about why and what it is like to be located on a cemetery and the many activities and spaces that make up our garden.

Meeting point: Hermannstr. 99-105 12051 Berlin

Stories from the Underground 

Stories from the Underground brings ethnobotanical and botanical researchers, curators and artists together from the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, the University of Amsterdam, CDE and Kulturschöpfer e.V. Berlin, a non-profit gallery and cultural hub that focuses on bringing together art, business, and social issues.

You are welcome to join us for our TNOC field trip based at Kulturschöpfer e.V. and a local park in Friedrichshain. One of Berlin's most cultural areas, Friedrichshain is home to numerous artist, design and media companies. Known for its many bars, clubs, pubs, and cafés, concentrated in the vicinity of Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz. There were numerous squats in Friedrichshain, with many in and around Rigaer Straße, Mainzer Straße and Scharnweberstraße. Kulturschöpfer e.V. is a non-profit artist-led association that focuses on bringing together art, business, and social issues in one space founded in 2013.

This Biophilic city art and science exploration of what is underneath Friedrichshain in Berlin, linking nature and deep time. Drawing on our TNOC virtual Signs of the Underground event, it is an iopportunity for you to explore the space between reality and dream as deep nature time. You will be invited to actively co-produce your creative responses at GreenHill Gallery and in the local park to discover what underground city nature feels like with scientists and artists.

We will start at 10 am CET at Kulturschöpfer e.V. Grünberger Str. 13, 10243 Berlin Greenhill Gallery, please arrive from 9:30 am CET for coffee/tea ready to start our field trip to a local park at 10 am. Finish by midday CET.

The field trip will be lead by:

Baiba Pruse
Baiba's is based at the University of Amsterdam, her work as an ethnobotanist is linked to local ecological knowledge regarding wild plant uses and citizen engagement in environmental change observation. She is strongly supporting the research strategy of transdisciplinary and collaborative work with artists.

Poppy Flint
Poppy is currently working on ‘Underfoot’, a perception-shifting installation that quite literally shines a light on the humble root system and creates a poignant setting to encounter stories and questions about human’s relationship with nature. She is an educator, artist, and a stubborn optimist.
poppyflint.com/underfoot/

Justin Stewart
Justin is an evolutionary ecologist investigating plant-microbial symbiosis. Currently, their work focuses on using mapping mycorrhizal fungal symbiosis from individual root systems up to global biodiversity maps. They are a PhD Candidate Data Ecologist at VU Amsterdam and SPUN. The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks

Christopher Elmerick
Director and cultural curator at Greenhill gallery kulturschoepfer Berlin. Kulturschöpfer e.V. is a non-profit association that has been concentrating since 2013 on bringing together the fields of art, business and social affairs in one space. People from Berlin and all over the world come here to get involved, create something together and inspire each other. In this way, we want to have a positive influence on the city of Berlin and our neighbourhood. Christopher has a passion to see all of culture holistically in all of its diversity by engaging, creating, and inspiring one another in community towards positive change.

Artist Jaime Jackson will contribute to the event on-line, he is a biophilic (love of nature) socially engaged and studio-based artist. Currently artist producer for the Arts Council England funded The Sign of the Underground,
This is a Culture Declares Emergency Birmingham Hub Offer event for The Nature Of Cities Festival, part of an Arts Council England funded Herefordshire New Leaf commissioning program. Part of the Sign of the Underground program, an artist and scientist-led gathering of 3 areas of subterranean city tendrils which includes:

1. The latest scientist research on the underground mycorrhizal network (that connects the roots of a plant with fungi), as well as Biophilia (love of nature), and deep time.
2. Linking these hidden pathways with what is underfoot in cities and towns, (pollution, pipes. cables, water).
3. Connecting nature with ethnomycology, underground grass roots eco-movements and marginalized communities.

www.kulturschoepfer.de
https://youtu.be/0-hS4HoW5fM?feature=shared

Among the various species introduced to Berlin by humans, there are indications that Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix) from Southern Europe might have been released into the area. Although this species is native to Berlin, the introduced individuals exhibit distinct morphological and genetic differences. To investigate the current Grass Snake population, we aim to collect samples from as many specimens as possible.

We invite scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike to join us on this exciting field trip! Learn about our research project, witness real-time scientific investigations in the field, and explore the beautiful and unique habitat of amphibians and reptiles in north-western Berlin. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with nature and experience important ecological research!

Join us!


Host Institution: www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin


Fieltrip location: The Spandau Forest is a highly diverse protected nature area at the very border of Berlin. With several wetlands and various forest types, it is also home to hundreds of different animal species.

Meeting point:
At 9:00 at the bus stop „Bürgerablage“.
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/W78G83HUMssn9vFP8

During the two-hour guided tour at the Tempelhofer Feld, different topics are communicated in dialogue, which refer to the special features of the area and its ecology. Special attention is paid to the grazing of the area by sheep. Interactions between farm animals, wild animals and the vegetation are presented.

On the base of special animal and plant species such as skylark and sand lizard, not only the importance of the Tempelhofer Field as a habitat is explained, but also basic biological concepts of different habitats and their inhabitants are explained.

The meeting point for the tour is the Info Pavilion on Tempelhofer Feld
https://maps.app.goo.gl/k4w8vgDhbotcRqCDA.

Please allow sufficient walking time - the Info Pavilion is about a 10-15 minute walk from the nearest bus stop (Bus stop Friedhoefe Columbiadamm).

From February to May, four artists collaborated with biodiversity scientists in collaboration with Berlin state representative on conservation and Freie Universität Berlin, exploring urban biodiversity. Inspired by this, they envision potential futures for Berlin's urban landscape through an exhibition at the Haus der Statistik at Alexanderplatz.  Join us for a guided tour through the exhibition with follow-up discussions at the intersection of art and science.


Location:
Haus der Statistik
Otto-Braun-Straße 70-72, 10178 Berlin

Photo Credits: Maximilian Koppernock

A site visit to the publicly accessible Wilmersdorf stadium to view the sheep grazing pilot project launched in 2021. Sheep are brought into the stadium twice a year to graze at its former grandstands which have been taken over by plants and shrubs for the past 20 years. The sheep help push back woody growth to make room for more species to thrive and to promote biodiversity. The juxtaposition of sheep in the stands and people exercising on the field is an unexpected sight to behold! Bring your running shoes or yoga mat for an (individual) outdoor workout afterwards.

Meeting point:
Fritz-Wildung-Straße 914199 Berlin

Google link: https://g.co/kgs/aRb9xSt