The soil is an extremely diverse habitat and an important basis of human life. Not only does it store water, nutrients, and heat, but is also the habitat of bacteria, fungi, and numerous other microorganisms. These work hidden from view, where they make an important contribution to the growth of plants and thus also animals by breaking down and converting organic material. Since this spring, soil has therefore been the theme of a collective exhibition at the NABU Forest Information Center at Forsthaus Neuhaus, where participants can immerse themselves in the unknown realm beneath our feet and explore, touch, and experience the primeval forest Saarbrücken from an entirely new perspective.
In the MICROBELIX pop-up laboratory at the wilderness camp, soil will be examined closely – even under the microscope – during the last week before the summer holidays. On exploratory tours with the jungle ranger, the jungle forester, and jungle wilderness educators, soil samples will be collected and then microbiologically examined together with researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS). For two days, the Günther von Bünau Wilderness Camp, not far from the hiking car park at Forsthaus Neuhaus, will be transformed into an outdoor research lab. There, young and old alike can try their hand at discovering exciting new soil bacteria in the freshly collected soil samples. On both days, scientists will explain how research into microbial diversity in the soil is linked to the discovery of new pharmaceutical agents. The search for new soil bacteria in the primeval forest environment is extremely promising – after all, hundreds of new bacteria have already been discovered in soil samples from Saarland as part of the MICROBELIX citizen science campaign, some of which actually produce new active natural products. This is one of the goals of the MICROBELIX project: to find new soil bacteria that are capable of producing natural products that could potentially be developed into new drugs for infectious diseases. At the same time, the researchers are working on methods to gain unprecedented insights into the diversity of microorganisms in the soil.
The MICROBELIX pop-up lab was created as part of the “Auf die Plätze! Citizen Science in deiner Stadt” competition in summer 2024 in collaboration with the NaturlandStiftung Saar. This year's boden:reich exhibition and themed action days are a collaboration between the Ministry of the Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection, SaarForst Landesbetrieb, NABU Saarland e.V., HIPS, and Netzwerk Entwicklungspolitik im Saarland e.V. It is also an exhibition promoting education for sustainable development.
When and where:
Sunday, June 29 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Monday, June 30 (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) | At the wilderness camp in the primeval forest just outside the city, not far from the hiking parking lot at the Forsthaus Neuhaus.
The boden:reich exhibition at the Forest Information Center and the Forest Pavilions is usually open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | For opening hours, see: www.saar-urwald.de
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