40 years of LPV Miltenberg: anniversary celebration with exciting planting campaign!

40 years of LPV Miltenberg: anniversary celebration with exciting planting campaign!

On November 14th, the Miltenberg Landscape Conservation Association (LPV) celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special planting campaign in the “America” orchard in Obernburg. Around 40 guests, mostly in work clothes, took part in the event, including members of the LPV, certified landscape fruit arborists, members of the Orchard Fruit Round Table and several mayors.

Deputy LPV chairman Steffen Scharrer praised the close cooperation between nature conservation, agriculture and municipalities. This cooperation is crucial for promoting biodiversity, which the LPV supports with various measures such as the protection of rare species such as the autumn twistroot and orchids in the Miltenberg district. The LPV also organizes further training for those interested in nature, including fully booked tree trimming courses, which are very popular.

Planting campaign in focus

The planting campaign was supported by the Bavarian State Government through the LNPR directive and also received support from a donation from Sparkasse Aschaffenburg-Miltenberg. As part of the event, Mayor Dietmar Fieger gave a historical overview of fruit growing in Obernburg, which has been cultivated in the “America” orchard since 1920. The Jakob family looks after the facility on an area of ​​around 8 hectares and receives 1,000 liters of liquid annually in return for the lease.

During the planting campaign, 40 standard trees, including 30 apple and 10 pear trees, were planted. The most well-known apple varieties such as Goldparmäne, Brettacher, Landsberger Renette and Gravensteiner found their new place in the soil, which turned out to be loamy and moist and therefore required strenuous work from the participants. Before the plantings there was a crash course in tree planting, conducted by Manfred Knippel.

After the work was done, a meal of coffee and freshly squeezed apple juice was waiting for the helpers. The planned activities and measures of the LPV are aimed at securing and developing the cultural landscape, as well as establishing a biotope network system and protecting landscape components worthy of protection.

Use in orchard care

The importance of orchards cannot be overestimated, as they are home to up to 5,000 plant and animal species. Unfortunately, the number of orchards has declined drastically in recent decades. This is where initiatives such as the Scattered Fruit Action Alliance come into play, which was launched under the patronage of the State Association for Bird and Nature Conservation, the Association for Nature Conservation and the German Association for Landscape Conservation. The aim is to restore and maintain these valuable areas in Bavaria.

Various measures are planned from 2024 to 2028 that focus on newly planted orchard fruit trees. The action alliance not only takes care of the new planting, but also the maintenance of existing stands and organizes events to increase awareness of orchards.

In addition, a new information platform will be set up to facilitate contact with relevant actors and support the networking of the initiatives. This platform is operated and developed by the Bavarian State Association for Horticulture and Land Conservation.

Overall, it is clear that the preservation and maintenance of orchards is a joint project and is of central importance for biological diversity in Bavaria. The LPV Miltenberg and its partners are committed to ensuring that the cultural landscape continues to flourish and thrive in the future.