Weltacker Nuremberg
In 2020, the couple Barbara and Manfred Schmitz (founder and founder of the Innovation and Future Foundation) came across the concept of the Weltacker in Berlin and the seed was planted in their minds to bring such a Weltacker to Nuremberg. A two-year process, a location analysis in cooperation with students from Nuremberg Institute of Technology and several auditions with the city later, the usage agreement with the city of Nuremberg for an area in Westpark was signed in July 2022.
From the parking lot to the world field
A central aspect of the creation of the Weltacker Nürnberg is its unsealing. Because where the Weltacker Nuremberg is now located was previously a parking lot, which was mostly occupied by trucks. In many cities, large areas are covered with sealed soil, which is often used as parking lots. At 59%, Nuremberg is the most sealed city in Bavaria and is even ahead of Frankfurt am Main (57%) in a German comparison.
Why was this particular area chosen despite the additional expense of unsealing? The sealed surfaces prevent the natural infiltration of rainwater, which can lead to flooding, among other things. You can find out more about the unsealing process of the Weltacker in Nuremberg here. With the unsealing, the project is setting an example: The transformation of sealed surfaces into fertile soil, which is the basis of our lives. In this way, we have not only contributed to the preservation of biodiversity, but also created a space where people can discover and experience global agriculture and the origin of their food.
2023 saw the official opening of the Nuremberg World Field and the start of its first successful season. The following year, the project received its first award: The Nuremberg World Field received the German Award for Sustainability Projects.
Educational center in the middle of the city
The special focus of the Weltacker is on education (SDG 4) but also on raising public awareness of the connections between, for example, global agriculture, our own diet and the associated effects on our planet. At the same time, various sustainable alternatives for global agriculture will be presented. This gives visitors a “positive footprint”.
The Weltacker is not only a place of learning, but also offers a space for community and exchange. As an intercultural place of learning and encounter, it not only offers the opportunity to exchange ideas about a healthy world for a common future, but also simply to promote togetherness in nature in the middle of the city.
The Weltacker Nuremberg team is constantly working on integrating the Weltacker into everyday school and non-school life. Be it in companies and institutions or schools and universities. This is achieved through partnerships throughout Nuremberg and beyond the city limits (SDG17). We cooperate with companies (e.g. DATEV) as well as initiatives and associations from the region (e.g. beachcleaner) in order to carry the impact beyond the Weltacker.
