Volunteer initiatives

The voluntary Department for Ecology and Sustainability of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität student's representation was set up to draw the attention of students and the university management to issues of ecological sustainability and to actively work towards greater sustainability at Julius-Maximilians-Universität. Together with other JMU members, the participating students want to make the university more sustainable, especially in the areas of teaching, operations, research, networking and sustainability: Teaching, operations, research, networking and student life.

In addition to the opportunity to work in the CampusGarten, the Ecology Department also offers workshops on sustainability, organises the lecture series "Can we still be saved? - Aspects of sustainability" and provides guidelines for sustainable studying and working at Julius-Maximilians-Universität.

The sustainability commitment of the Ecology Department of the student's representation has already been recognised several times:

• 2012 + 2013/14 - Official project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
• 2016/17 and 2018 - Award for the CampusGarden project as an official project of the UN Decade on Biodiversity
• November 2017 - The CampusGarden project was awarded the first Castell-Castell Prize of the University of Würzburg for sustainable action.

The "Lebendiger Campus" (Living Campus) initiative by staff and students from the Faculty of Biology and the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Ecology at JMU aims to systematically record the diversity of animals and plants (including fungi) on the Hubland Campus, to promote this diversity and to determine which areas on campus are particularly suitable for this. The initiative is currently financially supported by the university's UniBund and the Würzburg Environmental Foundation (exclusively for material resources). The activities of all members take place in addition to the regular work at the Institute.

The following measures have been carried out since the initiative was founded (selection): Creation of a website, mapping of animal, plant and fungal species, science communication and concrete actions on campus. The realisation of Bachelor's and Master's theses in the project is supported by specialist supervision from the fields of biology and physical geography.

The following measures were initiated in 2019

Monitoring: The systematic and scientifically sound recording of the animal and plant species that occur (depending on the species, either on the entire campus, in selected areas or along transects).

Contact: Dr Biedermann, Department of Animal Ecology & Tropical Biology

Action: The promotion of existing diversity through the establishment of 10 small biotopes ("Wuselflächen"). These are areas of around 10 m2 spread across the campus, which are only mowed once a year and enriched with various structural elements (e.g. nesting aids for insects, open soil, piles of stones and dead wood). 2 scurrying areas were implemented in 2019.
Contact: Dr Redlich, Department of Animal Ecology & Tropical Biology

Public relations and citizen science

Installation of information boards at the small biotopes or at special biotope types to explain the value of biodiversity, the current biodiversity crisis and measures to increase biodiversity on the Hubland Campus. In addition, the public should be encouraged to observe animals and plants on campus themselves and report them to the "Living Campus".

Contact: Dr Requier, Department of Animal Ecology & Tropical Biology

Under the motto "Responsibility for the day after tomorrow", the Fürstlich Castell'sche Bank endowed the first "Albrecht Fürst zu Castell-Castell Prize for Sustainable Action at the University of Würzburg" in November 2017. The deadline for applications and proposals is in early summer (applications/proposals should be sent to the JMU Sustainability Commission). The prize is awarded jointly by the Universitätsbund and the University of Würzburg every autumn at the annual concert of the Universitätsbund Würzburg.

So far, the €3000 prize has been awarded to