The Karwendel Nature Park

The nature park is a pioneer and driver in being a trailblazer. "It is in our blood, so to speak. We believe in our ideals, dare to advance with them, and persist even when it gets tough,” says Heufelder. This attitude is not imposed from above; on the contrary, it is based on the flat hierarchy of the association, where everyone has their own responsibilities and can contribute their own ideas. This leads to a correspondingly high level of commitment. In 2015, this resulted in the WÖFFI Project, which coordinated all hikes in the nature park with public transport and described them in a brochure; even the guided hikes in the protected area were adapted to public transport. Just a year later, the concept was shared with all other nature parks in Tyrol. By 2024, such an approach appears to be taken for granted, but without the pioneers in Karwendel, this would probably not be the case.

The focus in the Karwendel conservation area is on the preservation of the natural diversity of the Alpine world. In the nature park, this means ensuring that nature can develop peacefully and is disturbed as little as possible by humans. In one of the most popular local recreation areas, this is not an easy task, requiring extensive communication and awareness-building. Here, too, the nature park is taking innovative paths. For example, a climate education training program was initiated where participants learn to bring people closer to climate change and its consequences. "During the first rounds of training, exciting educational projects such as the KlimaTop Reither Moor emerged, some of which have already been implemented for visitors,” says Heufelder. Education is also at the forefront of its cooperation with local schools – all on the Seefeld Plateau are already certified nature park schools. This means that students are introduced to environmental and climate protection topics during class and on project days, allowing them to experience developments and impacts of climate change firsthand on site.

One is also actively involved as a member of the Karwendel Team, the volunteer group that the nature park initiated in 2012 to support its work. The focus here is on alpine maintenance, which is very time-consuming and often cannot be adequately managed by the alpine owners anymore. "Clearing* against bush encroachment is essential to preserve biodiversity,” explains the managing director. "If you go in a larger group, you can achieve a lot in one weekend." By now, the activities are "fully booked" months in advance – so many enthusiastic volunteers have been recruited.

Biodiversity, or in technical terms biodiversity, is the hobby horse of the natural park. Its source is dead wood in the forest and the proper care of cultural landscapes. Therefore, Heufelder, his team, and the Plateau Pioneers also advocate for a sustainably designed agriculture. This includes, among other things, mowing the meadows only once and keeping dog waste clean. Exemplary in both respects are the Leutascher valley meadows, which amaze not only experts due to their species richness. Nevertheless, awareness-raising is also required here. Thus, the meadows, sometimes perceived as "sloppy" by guests, were equipped with signs reading "This is not sloppy, this is biodiversity!" and information flyers were made available in all businesses. Additionally, there are guided tours and throughout the natural park, there are indications of the (V)Preservation rules for proper behavior and preserving the colorful splendor.

Tips and criticism do not spare even a model student in sustainability. "No one is perfect, and we certainly still have a lot of potential, especially when it comes to CO2 savings," Heufelder openly admits. The biggest thorn in the side is the vehicle fleet. In the first step, all employees received a VVT climate ticket and are encouraged to come to work by public transport and to use buses or trains for their business trips. Next, e-bikes have been purchased for the rangers, which they will use as often as possible for their trips into the valleys. However, much in the Nature Park is still only manageable by car or heavy machinery. "Switching to a clean solution here will be the task for the coming years." An equally important and probably much larger task is the pulling power that the nature park and Plateau Pioneers must develop together to inspire more and more people and businesses on their path. "Because environmental protection and sustainability must not remain stuck in an elitist bubble."