Nachhaltigkeit
Sustainability Day on 15 July 2026
In 2026, just like last year, there will once again be a ‘Sustainability Day’. The day promises plenty of exciting and fantastic (hands-on) activities. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of sustainability among the university community and to bring the issue back into sharper focus. Those actively involved in sustainability have put together a varied programme for the day, organised under the leadership of the Sustainability Office.
Promotions and information stands
Between 9 am and 3 pm, there will be lots of exciting and interesting activities and information stands outside the Audimax in the UHG. Among those taking part are Scientists for Future with their climate timeline (see below) and the plug-in solar module. Alongside information stands run by the AStA’s Ecology Department, Health Management, Students for Future and the Sustainability Office, there will also be a poster exhibition featuring, amongst other things, key content from the latest sustainability report (2025).
But this year there will also be plenty of great (hands-on) activities on offer: The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration Group (BERG) from the Faculty of Biology will illustrate the importance of ecosystem multifunctionality using a card game (see below), and as part of the citizen science project ‘Hidden Diversity – Visible Impact?’ visitors can experience the variety of smells and tastes of plants using (almost) all their senses.
Come along and join in!
(Hands-on) activities
- Citizen Science Project
Citizen Science Project “Hidden Diversity – Visible Impact?”
© Ruth Jakobs Plants of the same species can differ in their scent and flavour compounds. This so-called chemical diversity influences how attractive each individual plant is to pollinators and other insects. A team of citizen scientists and researchers is investigating the effects of plants’ chemical diversity on insects in 65 gardens across Germany as part of our citizen science project. This research is important because chemical diversity is part of biological diversity and can be protected more effectively through a better understanding of it.
Come along, discover the diversity of plants’ tastes and smells using (almost) all your senses, and find out more about the project.
- Climate Timeline by Scientists for Future
Climate Timeline
© Benjamin Strenge At the Scientists for Future stand
The Bielefeld/OWL regional group of Scientists for Future is presenting a timeline measuring a good 30 metres in length, which illustrates the development of global and local temperatures since the start of the Industrial Revolution and relates them to the corresponding CO₂ concentrations. The Climate Timeline was designed by Teachers for Future and, in the version on display, further developed in collaboration with the German Weather Service. The ‘Warming Stripes’ by British climate scientist Ed Hawkins illustrate the ongoing global warming using a colour scale. The progression from blue to red stripes makes it immediately apparent just how rapidly the average global temperature has risen from 1850 to the present day – particularly over the last three decades. As a striking eye-catcher, the Climate Timeline sparks discussions about climate change, highlights the most significant events and, with its many QR codes, invites visitors to interactively discover further information and media elements.
In addition, a plug-in photovoltaic solar panel in action illustrates one of many practical ways to contribute to climate protection in a clear and tangible way.
Anyone interested in the topic, in science communication or education for sustainable development, or who simply wants to pop in for a quick look, is warmly invited.
- Ecosystem Stability Game
Ecosystem Stability Game
© AG BERG, The game is in German. The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration Group (BERG) at the Faculty of Biology illustrates the importance of ecosystem multifunctionality using a card game. Who can be the quickest to complete an ecosystem with all its functions? However, caution and speed are both required – only a complete ecosystem with all six functions can withstand disasters such as flooding, drought, pollution or overgrazing. Come along and give it a go!
Events
- Campus Tour AG Bees
Campus Tour AG Bees
Nils Hasenbein When: 15 July 2026, 3.00–4.30 pm, register at: nachhaltigkeitsbuero@uni-bielefeld.de
Have you ever heard a buzzing sound on campus? If not, it’s high time you did. Around ten bee colonies are currently based in the Biology Department’s outdoor facilities. Nils Hasenbein, Student Affairs Officer for the Faculty of Biology, will provide insights into the lives of the university’s bees and their role in teaching and research during this campus tour. It’s not just about beekeeping and honey: above all, the bees’ navigational skills, foraging and pollination activities, as well as their social and reproductive behaviour, provide plenty of material for fascinating discussions.
Please note:
Unfortunately, the tour will have to be cancelled in the event of heavy rain or severe weather.
The number of participants is limited, so please register as soon as possible.
To give us an idea of your level of knowledge, it would be helpful if you could specify your group (students, staff, academic staff) when registering. Thank you very much!
- Discussion with laboratory staff regarding lab certification
Discussion with laboratory staff regarding lab certification
The Rector’s representative, Dominik Schwarz, is organising a discussion session for laboratory staff in room S1-213 between 3 pm and 4 pm on Sustainability Day. The session will focus on the laboratory certification process. Jan Oldengott will share his initial experiences of the process of making laboratory operations more sustainable.
- Clothes, Plants and Media Swap Meet
Clothes, Plants and Media Swap Meet
© Students for Future Bielefeld On 15 July 2026, as part of Sustainability Day, there will once again be a variety of swap meets, where all members of the university are warmly invited to bring along all sorts of media, clothes and even plants to share with others.
The swap markets will take place from 3 pm to 6 pm in the central university hall. Feel free to bring your own items along and swap them at the markets.
Clothes Swap
The Students for Future university group and the departmental student representative committee for Biology are jointly organising a clothes swap party.
Are you looking for items of clothing to give a loving home to? Is your wardrobe bursting at the seams? Then come along to our clothes swap party! Please bring freshly washed clothes in at least ‘okay’ condition – and no underwear.
You may bring a maximum of 10 items of clothing. Please be considerate of others when taking items home! Any remaining clothes will be donated afterwards.
Plant swap
Also organised as a collaboration between the Students for Future university group and the departmental student representative committee for Biology, a plant swap is being held for the first time.
Would you like some new plants and do you have a few cuttings or other plants to spare at home? Then please feel free to bring them along too: plants can also be swapped.
Media swap
The departmental student representative committee for Media Studies is organising a media swap under the motto ‘Everything is a medium’. Feel free to bring along books, films, CDs or perhaps even cassettes, LPs or magazines! Please do not bring more than 5 items. Anything left over will be donated.
The Bielefeld Tit – Bielefeld Tits amidst concrete, heat and traffic noise
A talk by Prof. Dr. Barbara Caspers in X-E0-002 between 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm (c.t.)
The lecture will focus on the following questions: How does city life affect family planning and animal behaviour? And what exactly defines a city? Are there factors that have a positive impact? The ‘Bielefeld Great Tit’ project investigates how different urban habitats influence reproductive behaviour – and why not all cities are the same. An exciting insight into the hidden diversity right on our doorstep.
Prof. Dr. Barbara Caspers (University of Bielefeld) will provide insights into the Bielefeld project.
The lecture will take place in building X, room X-E0-002, between 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm (c.t.).