A farewell to an institution

16 hectares, open land and greenhouses, marked by his work: Dr Gregor Aas has left his mark on the Ecological Botanical Garden (ÖBG) of the University of Bayreuth, which has a unique character due to its size, concept and state of maintenance. In the summer, Gregor Aas said goodbye after 27 years as director of the ÖBG. "Gregor Aas has developed the ÖBG into a paradise in the heart of the university, a real visitor magnet, an important scientific institution and a centre for environmental education," said University President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible when bidding farewell to Gregor Aas.

Gregor Aas was born in Franconia, studied forestry and worked scientifically in Zurich before the garden attracted him to Bayreuth. It is therefore not surprising that the arboretum and the additional areas planted with willows, which have been scientifically proven to be biodiversity hotspots, are particularly close to his heart.

However, it is not only the further development and refinement of the ecological open-air concept that is owed to Aas. It was Gregor Aas who advocated opening up the ÖBG to the interested public outside the university. Since then, the ÖBG has not only been an important service facility for practical support of research, teaching and species conservation, it also functions as an inner-city recreation area, tourist destination, extracurricular place of learning and training centre. More than 100,000 guests come to the ÖBG every year - as individual visitors or in groups. Statistically, guided tours take place on more than every single day of the year. Dr. Aas has often been involved as a teacher himself. In doing so, he knows how to inspire not only generations of students, but also laypeople with knowledge about botanical features and ecological connections. The first complete survey of all 2000 plant species in and around Bayreuth is also nearing completion. This "Flora of Bayreuth" was created by the ÖBG in cooperation with volunteer botanists. The contribution that the ÖBG makes to environmental education is therefore enormous. It is also an important pillar in the sustainable profile of the University of Bayreuth.

As early as 1998, the "Freundeskreis ÖBG e.V." was founded on the initiative of the then new garden management. In the meantime, this association has more than 700 members.

The footprints that Aas leaves behind are big, even if, in the course of his farewell, he humbly and with great thanks to all those involved recalls the team effort that is necessary, from the management level to every single horticultural professional, to maintain the ÖBG as what it has become in the meantime: a globally recognised institution in the field of ecological research and education for sustainable development that is open to all. Two who already know the garden well will take over the management in the future: Dr Lena Muffler-Weigel and Dr Robert Weigel. "We are very much looking forward to being able to manage this wonderful garden in the future," says Muffler-Weigel. The two already know Bayreuth well, having studied geoecology here. A presentation of the two new managers will appear in UBTaktuell after they take up their duties in mid-October 2023.