Mission statement, tasks & history

Mission Statement

We see ourselves as a diverse nature park with the mission of reaching the people of the region, creating understanding for nature and the environment and providing education at all levels. We stand for a sustainable and innovative nature park that provides the population with knowledge about the region and its natural features with a wide range of offerings.

live

The nature park is above all else: a habitat for people, animals, and plants. Together, we are committed to creating a region that is both livable and lovable.

Experience

The nature park, with its various offerings, helps to make nature accessible to everyone. Because only what we know will we appreciate and protect.

To move

A vibrant environment always involves activity, movement, and progress. We mean this not only physically, but also metaphorically. Innovation and motivation drive new ideas forward.

Area

cities and communes

Counties

Volunteers

of the area are protected areas

Guided Tours

founding year

Quality tours/trails

One of the classic nature park tasks is to offer people opportunities for recreation and access to nature. These are, for example, offers in the environmental education sector, such as the programs offered by our certified volunteer nature park guides, or events booked by school classes and other groups.

But the nature park can also be easily explored on your own. As coordinator of hiking trail management, supported by volunteers and in coordination with local hiking clubs and municipalities, the nature park marks and signposts circular hiking trails, sets up hiking parking spaces and develops new hiking offers, such as our trekking sites.

The nature park is also active in the area of nature and landscape protection. More than half of the almost 60.000 hectare nature park consists of various protected areas that particularly protect animals, plants and habitats. With the large-scale nature conservation project “Kellerwald Region”, nature conservation is additionally promoted.

Another major area of action is the sustainable fisheries management of the Edersee and Affolderner See. The nature park has had fishing rights for both bodies of water since 2012. The nature park is responsible for water surveys and fish stocking, but also for the sale of fishing permits and the control of anglers by our trained supervisors.

A journey through time

The Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park was founded on August 20, 2001. Instead of a national park, which had previously been discussed, there should now be a “nature park de luxe”, equipped with 5 million euros from the state of Hesse's future offensive. The nature park started on January 01.01.2002st, XNUMX.

The founding was preceded by difficulties. These concerned clarifying the geographical boundaries and the sponsoring organization.

Two variants were discussed when it came to sponsorship. Either an association solution sponsored by the Region Kellerwald-Edersee eV association, which has been recognized as a LEADER area since 1994 as the regional development agency, or the establishment of a municipal special-purpose association. Ultimately, those involved decided by a majority of one vote to found a special-purpose association to run the nature park.

The compromise was that the two organizations, the Nature Park Purpose Association and the Kellerwaldverein, were brought together locally and linked organizationally. The headquarters of both organizations was the Edertal Forestry Office, and the chairman (2002-2006 for both organizations) was Mayor Reinhard Grieneisen.

The nature park has leased the fishing rights to Lake Edersee. Previously, these rights were shared: the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration had leased the lake to commercial fishermen. After the fish population was severely depleted by both commercial and recreational fishing, the nature park is committed to ecological and sustainable management. The Edersee Interest Group (IG-Edersee) has been commissioned to conduct regular assessments and monitoring to restore the lake's ecological balance.

In 2005, the first cooperation with the Hessian State Nature Conservation Academy was established. For the first time, over 120 people were trained as "certified nature and landscape guides for the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park" (ZNL).

After three years of intensive planning for the major nature conservation project, the first nature conservation measures will begin on the Edersee steep slopes in 2010.

For the first time, the Kellerwald-Edersee Natupark has been recognized as a “quality nature park” by the Association of German Nature Parks.

As of January 01.01.2012, XNUMX, the nature park leases the fishing rights to Lake Affoldern and will stock several thousand brown and rainbow trout every year from now on.

After founding the association “Arche-Region Kellerwald, Frankenau and the surrounding area” last year, the region is now officially Hesse’s first Arche region. From now on, Frankenau can bear the title “Arche-Region Kellerwald, Frankenau and surroundings”, awarded by the Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Domestic Animal Breeds (GEH).

The culture ark in Frankenau is being built. Inside there is a small information center about the Arche region.

The nature park will be expanded to include areas in the town of Lichtenfels, Fritzlar, Bad Wildungen and the municipality of Vöhl, increasing in size by around 30%.

The Lichtenfels Panorama Trail has been awarded the title of "Quality Trail Wanderable Germany" by the German Hiking Association for the first time.

The office of the nature park is moving from Laustraße (National Park Office) to Langemarckstraße 19.

After two Corona years, the nature park is celebrating its belated 20th birthday with a big party at the pond in Oberurff-Schiffelborn. Yay!

The first three trekking sites on the Lichtenfels Panorama Trail opened in the spring.

Since April 2023 we have been able to bear the title “Quality Region Hiking Germany”. The path to certification began in 2019. As a quality region, we meet the criteria catalog of the German Hiking Association and thus offer hikers in the region special quality in terms of trails, accommodation and restaurants.

The "Nature Park Plan 2033" is being developed in cooperation with a planning office. It serves as a guideline for the next 10 years and includes guiding principles, goals, and projects.