Some were there themselves during their school days; others know only the old stone wall from their walks: the Waldschule between Kirchditmold and Wilhelmshöhe, not far from the Prinzenquelle. A project by the Open Space Planning Group within the ASL Department, led by Margarete Arnold and Franziska Bernstein, focused on the question “Who are you?” to examine the Kassel Forest School and its dynamic open space, its historical and architectural development to the present day, as well as the current demands placed on its use. The goal of this first project on the Waldschule was to conduct an in-depth analysis of this site and its surroundings, thereby laying the groundwork for future planning.

The students presented their findings at the Kassel Forest School during the ASL Department’s tour and the school’s open house days from July 11 to 13, 2023. Over the course of three days, visitors were able to tour the Forest School and form their own impressions of the buildings and grounds “behind the wall.”

The Forest School is not a regular school operated by the City of Kassel, but rather an extracurricular learning center with a history spanning nearly 100 years. In honor of the upcoming anniversary and as a pilot project within the BMBF’s “Education for Sustainable Development” model municipality program, the city plans to pedagogically redesign this aging, nature-oriented learning space and renovate its (landscape) architectural infrastructure. The exhibition by the Department of Open Space Planning and other planned activities with various partners will breathe new life into the Waldschule.

Hessischer Rundfunk was on site and reports on it in a podcast: Podcast HR4

Press release from the City of Kassel on mittendrin-kassel.de: Von Bienen, Einhörnern und Kochkursen