A group of 16 students from the Technical University of Munich visited the quarry Burglengenfeld in Germany on November 11th 2011.

On November 11th, sixteen students from the Technical University of Munich visited the quarry of the cement plant Burglengenfeld in Bavaria. During this excursion, the students got a first insight into the quarry and its diversity regarding habitats, species and restoration possibilities. The visit was important for the students to collect ideas and proposals for their projects within the Quarry Life Award. In the coming weeks the students are going to develop ideas in various groups under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Johannes Kollmann and PD Dr. Harald Albrecht (Technical University of Munich).  

The excursion began in the oldest part of the mining area, which is already covered with forest again. Neglected grasslands can be found where the soil is too shallow for trees and groves. The quarry walls in this part of the quarry are living spaces for specified animals and plants. After that the students visited the active mining area of the quarry (northern part) which is dominated by open rocks. Only a few highly specialized species can find suitable habitats there. The focus on restoration in the central part of the quarry is nature conservation. A few years ago these large areas were returned to nature. At the lowest quarry floor a small lake was built about 20 years ago. The lake is now overgrown with aquatic and marsh plants and provides habitat for many aquatic insects and amphibians. Over the entire quarry floor smaller scree and rock blocks were implemented which are important habitats for lizards and snakes. To investigate the development of species-rich neglected grassland, an existing area with neglected grassland in the surrounding of the quarry was mowed in the past and the fresh cut grass was distributed on a prepared research area in the old part of the quarry. In the flowing summer the first typical plant species such as stonecrop were found.

All in all, the excursion was a big success for the Quarry Life Award. The students were impressed by the diversity of the quarry and garnered a lot of ideas to participate in the Quarry Life Award.