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Author: Gesche Schifferdecker

Life in DeadwoodLIFESPAN still

Life in Deadwood

Published April 29, 2026 by Gesche Schifferdecker

Blogpost by Gesche Schifferdecker and Andrea Barzagli

“Today, there is no longer discussion about the general value of deadwood. Now the discussion is only about how, when, and where to preserve it.”

I heard that line like a door closing on an old argument. And then, just as quickly, another door opened onto the real question: what does “keeping deadwood” actually look like in a forest that is also being managed for people?

That’s the thread running through The Life in Deadwood, the final documentary of the LIFE SPAN project – filmed across two pilot sites, the Cansiglio Forest (Italy) and the Sailershausen University Forest (Germany). Guided by Jörg Müller, professor of conservation biology and forest ecology at the University of Würzburg, the ~20‑minute film follows a quiet, ongoing “competition between humans and saproxylic organisms”.

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Rewilding cultural imaginations: Reflections from an art exhibition in the forest Exhibition in the forest

Rewilding cultural imaginations: Reflections from an art exhibition in the forest 

Published April 15, 2026 by Gesche Schifferdecker

How does rewilding speak to you? Why does it matter to you or your community? How can rewilding transform both landscapes and mindsets? 

These were the questions we asked ourselves as we started our collaborative “Rewilding through Art” initiative between the WILDCARD and the REWRITE projects. These were also the questions we put forward, to invite anyone with a story, image, or idea about rewilding to share their vision with us. Our goal? An immersive exhibition in the forest with the vision to bridge art, science, and culture. And a virtual gallery with Meander, a new magazine for bioregional culture, slow living, and regenerative futures, who became a collaborating partner along the way. 

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From pixels to pines: exploring Bulgaria’s Rhodopes ForestsExploring Bulgarian forests

From pixels to pines: exploring Bulgaria’s Rhodopes Forests

Published February 4, 2026 by Gesche Schifferdecker

#RestorationStory by Annabel Burg, Sietse van der Woude, and Niamh Kelly

It was the last day of June 2025 when our small group set out from Schiphol Airport. Traveling with us, three PhD students from Wageningen University and Research, were two colleagues: Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Professor of European Forest Resources at Wageningen University, and Thomas Groen, Associate Professor of Remote Sensing at the University of Twente. Our destination was Bulgaria – a country that, until then, most of us knew little about. We were curious, not only about its history and culture, but especially about its landscapes. Despite its modest size, Bulgaria is blessed with mountains, rivers, caves, and lakes. More than one-third of the country is covered by forests, making it one of Europe’s most densely forested and biodiverse nations.

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Where Europe could rewild: mapping the forests of the futureProforestation in Germany (photo: Gesche Schifferdecker)

Where Europe could rewild: mapping the forests of the future

Published January 26, 2026 by Gesche Schifferdecker

Across Europe, landscapes are quietly changing. Mountain farms and pastures are being abandoned, forest management is easing in some regions, and climate and policy pressures are reshaping how land is used. For some, these trends raise concerns. For others, they open a powerful question: where could nature return, at scale, if we let it?

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Beyond timber: how experts envision the future of non-wood forest productsBerry picking (photo credit: Rainer Peltola)

Beyond timber: how experts envision the future of non-wood forest products

Published December 10, 2025 by Gesche Schifferdecker

by Gesche Schifferdecker, Jukka Tikkanen, Mikko Kurttila, and Rainer Peltola

When you explore a Finnish forest with experts like Jukka Tikkanen, Mikko Kurttila, and Rainer Peltola, you quickly realise that the forest economy is far richer than timber alone. Between the trees and under the canopy lies a quiet abundance: branches from Spruce trees, sap from birches, mushrooms, resin, berries. And now, more than ever, these non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are gaining attention in forest planning.

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Seeds of renewal: collaboration for climate-resilient forests in North Rhine-Westphalia Seeds of renewal: collaboration for climate-resilient forests in North Rhine-Westphalia

Seeds of renewal: collaboration for climate-resilient forests in North Rhine-Westphalia 

Published November 20, 2025 by Louisa Bouri-Saouter

By Louisa Bouri -Saouter and Gesche Schifferdecker When tourists come to visit Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, some wonder what has happened. Around the Lömecke Tower,…

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Forschungspreis für Citizen Science 2025: 1. Platz für das Projekt PlanBirke plus CBirke und Biodiversität

Forschungspreis für Citizen Science 2025: 1. Platz für das Projekt PlanBirke plus C

Published November 10, 2025 by Gesche Schifferdecker

Bürger*innen erforschen den Waldwandel – Klimawirksamkeit, Biodiversität & Wasserhaushalt Das Forschungsinstitut für Bergbaufolgelandschaften (FIB) wurde mit dem 1. Platz des „Wissen der Vielen – Forschungspreis…

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