Binational Junior Ranger Olympics at the Wiese Landscape Park in Switzerland

In glorious weather on the 20th June, around 200 Junior Rangers from Germany and Switzerland put their knowledge and skills to the test at the 10th Swiss Junior Ranger Olympics in the Wiese Landscape Park. For the first time – and entirely in keeping with the spirit of the cross-border Wiese Landscape Park – the event was organised as a binational competition. The Junior Rangers from the Black Forest Biosphere Reserve secured a narrow victory

Once a year, the Swiss groups meet for the nationwide Junior Ranger Olympics to tackle various challenges in teams and complete tasks in the great outdoors. At this year’s tenth edition of the event, 18 groups were out and about in the Wiese Landscape Park, tracking animal trails, building drinking water filters, solving tricky tasks in the forest and decorating the landscape park with land art installations. A unique feature of this year’s event was the participation of Junior Ranger teams from Baden-Württemberg.

The entire ranger team at the Wiese Landscape Park was involved in preparing and running the event. Martha Koelbing, a ranger at the Wiese Landscape Park, says: “Due to the high temperatures, we had to move the locations of individual checkpoints into the woods or into the shade at short notice. With temperatures soaring to 33 degrees, we also had to ensure there was plenty of drinking water and ways to cool down. Otherwise, the event would not have been feasible. In addition, a team from the Weil am Rhein-Haltingen branch of the German Red Cross was on standby at the venue.”

Johann Thieme, a ranger at the Wiese Landscape Park and responsible for the Junior Ranger programme, is very pleased with how the day went: “What stood out in particular was the high level of motivation among the Junior Ranger teams. We also succeeded in integrating site-specific topics, such as drinking water production and the praying mantis, into the scavenger hunt, thereby giving the participating teams an insight into our day-to-day work in the Landscape Park.”

Through the ‘Junior Ranger Programme’, ranger services in Germany and Switzerland offer a nature-based environmental education programme for children aged between 7 and 15. This helps to inspire children and young people’s enthusiasm for nature and raises their awareness of its conservation and value. Junior Rangers meet ten to twelve times a year in fixed small groups on afternoons when school is out to explore nature in the protected areas, accompanied by a trained ranger. In doing so, they learn about the interconnections in nature and experience exciting adventures. They thus become ambassadors for landscapes, habitats and protected areas in their region.

The Landschaftspark Wiese Junior Ranger programme has been a member of the EUROPARC Junior Ranger network since 2022 and is run by the Swiss Ranger Service. For more information about the happenings of the Swiss Junior Rangers and Young Rangers, check out their website which hosts blogs and more!