30 years of responsibility: Landscape Conservation Association celebrates with guests!

30 years of responsibility: Landscape Conservation Association celebrates with guests!

In the deep heart of the Upper Palatinate, more precisely in the Neumarkt district, an important general meeting of the Neumarkt i.d.OPf landscape conservation association took place in July 2025. e.V. took place in Velburger Wieserstadl. In the midst of around 65 guests, including the mayors of the 19 member municipalities and the deputy district administrator Josef Bauer, one thing became clear: the association was celebrating its 30th anniversary. How Neumarkt Current reports, the association has become an established institution in the district and has worked tirelessly for the cultural landscape, living spaces and the region.

In his speech, managing director Werner Thumann recalled the founding of the association in 1995. A lot has happened since then: the association not only supports agriculture and nature conservation, but is also actively involved in landscape conservation measures, water restoration and species conservation projects.

Anniversary and record year

The past year 2024 can be described as a record year: Over 162 landscape conservation measures were implemented, with the focus on poor grassland, moorland and wet areas as well as small bodies of water and orchards. A total of over 786,000 euros were invested in this, supported by the landscape conservation and nature park guidelines with a pleasant funding rate of 70-90%. It is noteworthy that the association looks after over 450 care areas with a total of around 1,235 hectares, of which 900 hectares are poor grassland and 170 hectares are wet biotopes.

The association's projects are diverse and include, among others, the nature conservation projects “Valley of the White Laber” and “Network Sulztal”. One of the most important undertakings is the Juradistl, which is considered the largest nature conservation project in the Upper Palatinate and provides products to secure habitats. Water development projects such as “The Sulz lives” have also been active since 2002, covering almost 12 km of renatured watercourses.

Education for sustainable development

Another important part of the association's activities is the environmental education and regional development center HAUS AM HABSBERG, which has functioned as a state-recognized environmental station since 2007. Over 80 school events took place in 2024 and re-confirmation as an environmental station was granted in June 2025. The 2025 annual program is all about the anniversary and offers a number of exciting activities.

A novel concern can be seen in the projects of the QuellenReich regional park, which aims at sustainable regional development. Citizens expect innovative projects under the motto “The regional park is blooming”. Particular attention is paid to the EU project “BarnCulture”, which deals with the new use of barns and creates concepts for a multi-generational housing project and a visitor center.

As a sign of the excellent cooperation, the landscape conservation association, together with Neumarkter Lammsbräu, was awarded second prize in the German Landscape Conservation Prize 2025 for their “NUN – Neumarkter Entrepreneurs' Roundtable Sustainability”.

The view of the future

The landscape conservation association's approach is part of a larger framework that is also supported by the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Conservation, or ANL for short. Since its founding in 1976, the ANL has played an important role in education and research in Bavaria. Loud ANNL Over 100 events are held annually to impart knowledge about species, ecology and planning and to promote dialogue between actors in nature conservation.

In the near future, the master's program in sustainable regional development could also be offered at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development HNOE explains, provide a breath of fresh air. Students learn skills such as project management and teamwork that flow directly into the practical challenges of sustainable development.

This shows once again: the topics of nature conservation and sustainable development are very popular and are of central importance for the Neumarkt region. The landscape conservation association's commitment not only has a long tradition, but also a promising outlook for the future.