Understanding Diversity: Exploring and Experiencing Nature

Berlin is a very green city with plenty of nature. Urban nature plays an important role for Berliners, as good access to green spaces, parks and local recreational areas is also crucial to the quality of life of the city’s population. This is demonstrated by the findings of the survey on environmental justice in Berlin’s districts. This urban nature must be preserved, but that is not enough. How can the protection of changing nature be shaped in a dynamic and future-proof way in collaboration with other stakeholders? How and where is nature in Berlin actually changing? These two aspects – ‘better access to urban nature and environmental education projects’ and ‘research into nature in Berlin’ – were at the heart of our interdisciplinary project and our subsequent activities.

Understanding Diversity is a research and education project on Berlin’s urban nature, funded by the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment. Along Berlin’s main green corridors, urban nature is being researched whilst simultaneously being brought to life for local residents. A key feature is the close integration of science and educational programmes, as well as the focus on long-term partnerships, for example with schools, nurseries and initiatives, as well as with professional societies and associations. The project demonstrates how biodiversity conservation can be shaped and supported in urban areas. As such, Understanding Diversity fits closely with the Museum of Natural History’s self-image of taking on social responsibility and combining research, education and participation. It exemplifies how the museum can bring its expertise and responsibility into the city. 

The project has fostered ongoing partnerships with stakeholders in nature conservation, environmental education institutions, environmental authorities and civil society. This includes eight long-term educational partnerships with schools and nursery schools. Our scientific publications, for example on the state and trends of biodiversity in Berlin, are being applied beyond the scope of the project, including at an international level. In a publication, we analyse and compare various indicators for monitoring the development of biodiversity in cities; indicators that enable an assessment of the achievement of global and EU biodiversity targets and, in turn, can be an important aid in political decision-making. One of these indicators was even populated with data for the first time ever in the world as part of the project – using data for Berlin. We have also compiled an overview of existing long-term data on Berlin’s biodiversity. As a result, we now have a clearer picture of which biodiversity data is being collected for Berlin – and where gaps exist. Our findings regarding Berlin’s key biodiversity areas are particularly exciting. We were interested in identifying which areas in Berlin are characterised by the presence of endangered species. We applied and published this international concept for urban areas for the first time worldwide.

All of the project’s publications, guidelines and data form the basis for future city-wide monitoring of biodiversity in Berlin. Together with the project’s overall findings, they constitute key building blocks for the long-term conservation and management of biodiversity in rapidly changing urban areas such as Berlin – whilst also deliberately highlighting issues such as (mental) health, climate adaptation and environmental justice. Even though project funding ended in late 2025, many structures remain in place. A key component of “Understanding Diversity” was the training of multipliers, particularly teachers, who received targeted training in workshops. This ensures that environmental education programmes can continue in the project’s partner schools. Furthermore, the concepts developed in the project form a basis for new initiatives and an expansion to other districts. The approaches are transferable and can also serve as a model for other cities. The aim is to consolidate the approaches in the long term and translate them into new projects. We remain committed to supporting the development of models for a sustainable, liveable city in which biodiversity, health and climate adaptation are considered together – and, of course, in particular, their implementation in practice.

Partners

Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment and many other partners