23.06.2023
From May 24 to 27, 2023, the VÖW seminar "Sustainable Land Use Systems - Transformation Processes and Goals" took place at the Environmental Education Center Berlin. This seminar was organized in cooperation with the Topic Cluster "Life in Transformation: Food, Resources and Minds" of the Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of the HU Berlin and the Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and financially supported by the Graduate School of Life Science, among others. The seminar aimed to promote exchange and discussion on the design of sustainable land use systems between young scientists from different disciplines such as agricultural sciences, biology, geography, psychology, political sciences and agricultural economics.
The 20 participants, selected in advance, presented their research in talks and posters, which were discussed during the seminar. In addition, they received technical input from renowned experts such as agricultural economist Prof. Sebastian Lakner and transformation researcher Prof. Jana Zscheischler. An interactive workshop was led by lecturer Emilia Nagy, who taught the participants various methods. During the workshop, the participants were able to expand their knowledge and skills in research and learn new perspectives.
The seminar also provided space for planning joint publications and forming collaborations to continue beyond the end of the seminar. Furthermore, hands-on experiences were used to connect with the field. Thus, the participants had the opportunity to visit the fields of the Solidarity Farming "Speisegut" and learn more about this organizational model. There, they were able to observe field robots at work and ask questions to the manufacturers. Another highlight was the excursion to the Döberitzer Heide, a large nature reserve just outside Berlin, where the participants were informed about nature conservation and land use conflicts by employees of the Sielmann Foundation.
