To start off the new academic year, we went on a two-day retreat in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia. On the programme on day 1:

• A visit to the endemic and highly specialised species Viola guestphalica. This species is adapted to soils with heavy metals, and its distribution is restricted to NRW. Although late in the season, we found it still flowering and very abundant in the former zinc mine and current nature conservation area Bleikuhlen!!
• An evaluation of the past (half) year and a workshop on working styles and time management
• An excursion to a fresh restoration site of the river Diemel. This tributary to the Weser River underwent channel widening and adding of large dead wood.

After that, some very heavy clouds caught up with us while we visited a calcareous grassland just outside Dalheim. This type of habitat can harbour some pretty rare plant species, and we were excited to find some Scabiosa and Centaurea species.

On day 2, we started off with mapping the funding landscape and discussing grant application strategies and possibilities. The regional, national and international level offer a lot of exciting possibilities, but we managed to narrow down and specify some concrete plans after lunch. Stay tuned for this!

For the drive home, we took a slight detour to visit a chalk quarry close to Geseke, to explore another example in which we use and live with our landscape.

Now, the new academic year can start!