Reason for Hope in Burghausen
Newsletter, 09.06.2015
On June 5 2015, the third `Reason for Hope´ Festival took place in Burghausen. As part of our LIFE+ project the festival was hosted by the City of Burghausen. The main occasion was the official opening of the new Breeding Camp at the defence wall of the Castle of Burghausen.
The festival started with a symposium with four speakers. Before the speeches started, honorary sponsorships for Northern Bald Ibises were awarded, one of them to the Mayor of the City of Burghausen Mr. Hans Steindl.
As the first speaker, Dr. Astrid Rössler (First Vice-Govenor of Salzburg) talked about the vision of the Nature Park `Salzachauen´ (`Naturpark Salzachauen – Eine Kathedrale für die Zukunft bauen´). For many participants, her speech was the highlight of the event and as a particularly positive result, Mr. Steindl declared his support for this visionary project, which shall also be implemented within the LIFE programme of the EU (https://youtu.be/avOj5oquAYc).
Next, DI Christian Schuhböck talked about the potential to recognize the unique Castle of Burghausen as a UNESCO world heritage site. After this, Prof. Kurt Kotrschal, Head of the Konrad Lorenz Research Station, talked about the opportunity for scientists to learn from the Northern Bald Ibis and “why birds aren´t mammals”. Finally, the General Project Manager of the LIFE+ project, Johannes Fritz, talked about the changes in the international wildlife conservation on the example of Northern Bald Ibises.
Prof. Peter Berthold, Thomas Hepperle and Dr. Burkhard Schall arrived from Baden-Württemberg just for the festival. They wanted to receive an impression of the project in Burghausen, in view of the planned establishment of a breeding colony of Northern Bald Ibises in Überlingen at Lake Constance.
As part of a small ceremony at 6 p.m., the new Breeding Camp at the Castle´s defence wall was officially opened. Among others, Mr. Heinz Donner spoke as a representative of the Bavarian Department of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes.
Currently, there are 10 adult Northern Bald Ibises on site, raising 8 chicks. The birds were relatively unimpressed by the presence of the numerous visitors. Some of them flew as if on command in front of the impressive backdrop of the Castle of Burghausen.
At 7 p.m. the public was welcomed to a picnic held in the area of the Castle, with background music by Michael Schroll and the band `Trova Libre´. At dusk, the outdoor cinema started, first showing a video presenting the Northern Bald Ibis project and followed by the BBC production `Die fantastische Reise der Vögel´ (`Earthflight´).
Opening of the Breeding Camp at the Castle of Burghausen: l. to r. Thomas Hepperle (City of Überlingen), Heinz Donner (Bavarian Department of State-owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes), Hans Steindl (Mayor of the City of Burghausen), Konrad Maurer (Bund Naturschutz in Bayern e.v.), Dr. Astrid Rössler (First Vice-Governor of Salzburg), Prof. Peter Berthold (Vogelwarte Radolfzell), Prof. Kurt Kotrschal (Konrad Lorenz Research Station Grünau), Johannes Fritz (LIFE+ Reason for Hope).
Pictures available for download:
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/w977xz0kcvuhx59/AAAa56awav0AIH9OLq0e52p4a
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