What does our environment tell us? How do places become repeatedly habitable for different creatures? What are processes of coexistence, adaptation or confrontation?

Different needs meet on the grounds of the New St. Jacobi Cemetery. Although burials are no longer carried out, there are still active graves that are visited by relatives. Since 2018, the Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv has been taking care of the area and is gardening together with PlantAge, BodenschätzeN and Flamingo e.V. on the rear parts of the cemetery. They support biodiversity, try different gardening techniques, exchange knowledge and create community spaces. At the same time, the grounds are a retreat for people and animals and with its many trees provide cool air. For the next few years, the New St. Jacobi Cemetery is protected by the reverence period. Whether and how the area will be built on after, is already being negotiated.

Thinking about and with ecology is, on the one hand, about the protection of existing ecosystems and living beings, but it also raises the question of how places become repeatedly habitable. What comes into play are the interweavings and interdependencies that arise between organisms—both human and non-human. How can we engage with the different realities around us and allow interconnections? With voices from and around the New St. Jacobi Cemetery, “Garden Walks” approaches these themes.

Starting with the advertising pillar at the entrance, you can follow the dots on the map along the main path and listen, read and experience the different contributions. They talk about green spaces and urban policy, water, the soil and cycles, stories from the garden and ecological strategies for the future.

If you want to listen to “Garden Walks”, you need a smartphone with internet connection and headphones. Most of the audio contributions are in German. The contributions can also be read here. All points on the map are accessible by wheelchair and there are always seating options along the way for breaks.

Elisa & Laura