The Bergisch region is known for its hilly landscape, its village structures and, last but not least, its forest. With its proximity to the metropolises of the Rhine / Ruhr region, the Bergisch has always been a recreational area to the surrounding cities. Therefore, quite a few people have always come here to hike, jog, ride or even mountain bike through the interconnected and quite extensive forest areas.

Unfortunately, climate change and the resulting last three incredibly dry summers with the resulting weakness of the spruce trees in the Bergisch region have led to an infestation of bark beetles that has caused excessive forest damage. Within 3 summers, the once dense spruce forest, which had grown over decades, was completely cleared. In part, several hectares of large contiguous areas of dried-up red spruce were "harvested" with the harvester and transported away. And so completely one is not yet "finished" with it. Hardly any other sight shows one the consequences of the otherwise so abstractly handled word "climate change" in such a dramatic way mercilessly on one's own doorstep.

The picture that emerged, especially in the winter of 2020 / 2021, was a frightening one for those who have known the forest for years. But there is light at the end of the tunnel: on the one hand, the many rains in the late spring of 2021 and the now incoming light have ensured abundant growth of bushes, wild berries, ferns, grasses and young trees, and on the other hand, one can already find areas that are at least partially reforested again. Of course, there is still a lot to do and it will take years to restore the forest to the way it used to be or to adapt it to the new challenges of climate change. In this way, the often theoretically used term "climate change" becomes tangible and tangible in our forests and clearly shows the need for action. But also that nature is already helping itself - if you let it.

In this respect, our forest is still a place of reflection, now also of admonition - but above all still a place of recreation!


With best thanks and kind regards, Joachim Remmel