Herb show 2025
On May 16, 2025, the "Krautschau" campaign will take place for the first time in the pilgrimage town of Kevelaer, in cooperation with the NABU nature conservation center gelderland. The aim of this nationwide initiative is to put the spotlight on the wild flowering plants on our roadsides, in pavement cracks and wall gaps.
In cities, plants play a major role in mitigating the effects of climate change. This not only applies to trees and parks. The sometimes tiny, tough greenery that grows almost everywhere between paving stones and cracks in walls also absorbs surface water, increases infiltration and binds dust.
In addition, wild plants in the city are of great importance to the urban ecosystem, providing shelter and food for other organisms such as wild bees and beetles. In Germany, over 500 species have adapted to extreme conditions by withstanding foot and vehicle traffic, heat, drought, soil compaction and pollution.
The #Krautschau campaign week, coordinated by Julia Krohmer (Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt am Main) together with Alexandra-Maria Klein (University of Freiburg), is taking place for the 5th time nationwide and aims to raise awareness of the often overlooked wild plants in the city. In groups or individually, with or without guidance, participants search for green plants on sidewalks and in cracks in walls in the city, mark and photograph them with colored chalk and share the pictures on social networks. Plant identification apps can also help laypeople to identify plants and reward active collectors with badges. The collected data can also be scientifically analyzed, e.g. frequency, distribution and temporal development of certain plant species. The campaign spread from France via England to Germany, where the hashtag #Krautschau has become established on social media.
At our "herb show", the NABU speaker will take us on a 90-minute search for the green rebels in the city, starting at 2 p.m. from the meeting point . Using colorful chalk, we will give the often overlooked plant diversity the attention it deserves. Anyone can take part, even if they have no special knowledge of the species.