“Biodiversity is declining drastically worldwide, with 150 animal and plant species becoming extinct every day. If we lose this diversity, we are undermining everything we need to survive on this planet,” said Professor Günter M. Ziegler, president of Freie Universität Berlin. “Universities have an obligation to provide space for the immediate challenges facing our societies and to highlight potential courses of action that have a scientific basis. By declaring a Year of Biodiversity, we want to promote a change in thinking and play our part in advocating for more biodiversity conservation.”

Biodiversity at Freie Universität Berlin

Researchers across multiple disciplines at Freie Universität Berlin and Botanic Garden Berlin are investigating biodiversity loss, its causes, and its consequences. The science picnic on May 22 is a free event, hosted in and around the Main Tropical Greenhouse at Botanic Garden Berlin, that will feature talks from specialists about their research and how they are working to promote biodiversity. The range of topics is broad, from butterfly monitoring to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal “Life on Land,” from the relationship between the climate and biodiversity to the premiere of a biodiversity song. Visitors can also discover the Botanic Garden and its greenhouses in free tours taking place from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. and learn about the various green initiatives taking place on campus.