The first programme item of the children's holiday programme in Biberach was very well received!
On Friday 26 July, 12 children from Biberach, Emmersbach, Erzbach and Prinzbach went straight from school into the children's holiday programme: the UNIMOG and tractor friends of Biberach took the 12 children on a "forest adventure" to Prinzbach in the "Steingraben" area.
In the front line was "winter farmer" Wilhelm Schmieder. With tractor and UNIMOG, the group set off in the direction of "Steingraben" - soon the first stop was there.
The wood vine - a pest unlike any other
The children were shown the trees that were overgrown with so-called "forest vines". This is a pest that severely attacks the trees once they are infested. What sounds harmonious damages the tree enormously. To demonstrate how stubborn the forest vines are, the children were able to cut off the lower end of the vines with saws and then try to tear them off the tree. This took a lot of strength, but in the end all the children had a piece of woodland vine that was then used for carving. The longest piece that could be cut from a tree was 13 m long.
It became clear to the children once again how hard this vegetation is and that the trees cannot free themselves from it.
gruesome times - the wolf pit
Then it was off to the next stop: a gruesome relic from earlier times: a wolf pit! Alfons and Rolf Schmieder with their tractor "Helene" and the trailer mastered the slopes of the Prinzbach forest excellently with children on board and we were soon at the scene of the action: only 30 metres below the forest, the children walked to a wolf pit. A man-made depression in the forest, fortified with stones and in earlier times up to 4 m deep. A decoy was deposited there in a cage for the wolf - usually a chicken. The hungry wolf would then jump into the pit but never come out. The people then came and killed the wolf with spars or other tools. For the wolf threatened people by attacking and killing their livestock. The livelihood of the people was in danger.
The foxhole - a labyrinth as a habitat
Then we went up to the "foxhole". The children had never seen this before - a labyrinth of holes in the ground that serves as a habitat for the fox. Many passages connect a "living cauldron" that lies up to 4 m below the ground with the outside world. During the day, the foxes are safe in their burrow, only coming out at night to search for food. Fascinated and spellbound, the children listened to Wilhelm Schmieder's explanations. Afterwards, the children had a lot of fun climbing around the hill, exploring the caves and playing with rotten wood. Many a rotten tree was brought down by children's hands. The children were able to learn how dangerous dead trees can be in the forest.
View over Biberach
We then drove on to the "Gutzweiler" area where we had an excellent view of Biberach and the lower Kinzig valley due to reforestation. The children used the binoculars they had brought with them to try and find their house or other prominent points in the village.
Final barbecue at the "Winterbauer
At the end of the day, we stopped at the "Winterbauer". The children were invited to a barbecue by the UNIMOG and tractor friends Biberach and Gertrud Schmieder had already lit the fire when they arrived at the farm. Gerhard Große, who accompanied the group with the family UNIMOG, was very happy about the high number of participants. And when the children were asked how they liked it, all thumbs went "up" and the joy about this exciting afternoon was written all over their faces.
The UNIMOG- und Schlepper-Freunde Biberach e.v. were also very satisfied with the way their first children's holiday programme went. The children behaved very disciplined and above all interested. And the safety instructions for such an excursion were also observed throughout. So a big praise to the children as well. They are all welcome to come again.
© Photo's and text Gerhard Große