Annual Report 2024

Our objectives

Our objectives are based on the guidelines of an action plan proposed by nature conservation experts in 2019. These measures include (a) establishing sunlit small bodies of water for yellow-bellied toads, great crested newts and other amphibians, (b) designating several old wood islands, each approximately 1. ha in size, with old individual trees and strong, standing deadwood to provide a suitable habitat for oak beetles, woodpeckers and stock doves, (c) restoring the Schöffelsteinwiese, (d) build several sunny deadwood piles to improve the habitat of Aesculapian snakes and sand lizards and (e) plant and promote the burnet nut at several locations.

We have already implemented many of these measures in recent years. For 2024 in particular, we have set ourselves the goal of further improving the diversity of the cultural landscape of the Vienna Woods by creating new habitats and refuges for animal and plant species that are classified as in need of protection. 

Our achievements 

Creating new habitats 

With the help of a project funded by the EU's "Rural Development" funding scheme, we were able to create new breeding and spawning grounds and take further steps towards renaturalizing the Schöffelsteinwiese. For example, we have created several mini-biotopes to provide additional suitable spawning grounds for the yellow-bellied toad and the alpine crested newt. Furthermore, together with our nature park schools, we have created new breeding opportunities for wild bees and bats along the forest edge and the forest meadows; in doing so, we have not only taken important measures for biodiversity but also offered young people opportunities for conscious nature conservation. 

In 2024, the nature park took over the maintenance of the Sängerbrunnen area. We built two deadwood hedges as a near-natural boundary to the B44, supported by pupils from the nature park schools. These deadwood hedges provide valuable habitats for numerous animals. Both on the Feilerhöhe (which is not part of the immediate nature park area, but is supervised by the nature park team on request) and at the Kellerwiese playground, we have installed two larger and several smaller benificial insect hotels that provide a habitat for wild bees, beetles, and other insects. 

The Schöffelsteinwiese, an important part of our conservation area, was cultivated with a harrow and enriched with additional regional seeds. To further enhance the ecological value of the area, we have built wood piles and root pits along the edge of the forest, which serve as refuges for insects, small mammals and amphibians.Further sowing and maintenance measures are planned for spring 2025.

Improved visibility of the protected area and visitor guidance 

An indirect measure for nature conservation was to improve the visibility of the protected area by re-making the entrances to the nature park and thus better signaling to visitors that they are in a specially protected area. We have installed visitor guidance signs on our new themed trails, which will help to ensure that visitors stay on the trails. There are new information boards with QR codes along the Beech Trail (Buchenweg) and the Schöffelweg, which our visitors can use to call up information about the forest (especially the beech trees) and the soil. 

Sustainable forest management 

For the fourth time in 2024, we clearly exceeded the self-imposed guidelines for sustainable forest use in the municipal forest by not removing any significant quantities of wood. With a sustainable wood growth of approximately 300 fm per year, this results in additional CO2 storage in the trees of just under 250 t CO2 in 2024, plus a similar amount through the storage of biomass insoils and roots.   

We have also designated special "veteran trees", particularly in the existing 4 stepping stone biotopes. These old and partially dying trees provide a valuable habitat for numerous species that depend on such wood (such as the rare Alpine longhorn beetle). Additionally, we have installed information boards on veteran trees along the trail. 

Measures for the removal of plastic 

In traditional forestry, plastic sheeting was generally used to protect sensitive tree seedlings from browsing during reforestation, which was then often left in the forest. In 2024, we launched a special campaign to clear the nature park of plastic debris from the "monosteers" used during the reforestation of the steep northern slope in 2014 and collected the plastic scattered by wind drifts or torrents. As part of this, we also launched an information campaign to raise awareness among our nature park guests about the importance of keeping nature clean. 

Our objectives 

Environmental Education is very important to us, because nature conservation can only be successful if it is supported by the population. Therefore, the continuous development of our educational offerings is a key priority for us. We aim to provide our guests with added value during their visits to the nature park by introducing new formats and enhancing our information areas. 

In the 2024 work program, we aimed to enhance the existing information areas and, in particular, we wanted to strengthen the exisitng education program and revise the information areas along the hiking trails in the nature park design. Our primary goal in the field of education, in line with the Nature Park Concept 2019, was to transform the exisitng wooden laboratory building into a weatherproof learning space. This space would enable nature-based regular lessons for school classes and allow for adapting the current facilities to support nature-based visual education. While developing the educational concept, it became evident that the "Waldklasse" should not only cater to schools but also serve a broader range of purposes. These include adult education courses and workshops for adults. Consequently, we decided to change the working title to "Waldwerkstatt". 

Our achievements

Environmental education for schools  

As in previous years, environmental education for schools remained a key focus of our work. In 2024, we welcomed nearly 50 school classes, comprising 1,250 pupils, and provided them with opportunities to experience nature up close, engage all their senses, and gain valuable knowledge about nature conservation. 

Nature Park-School-Campus Purkersdorf

After extensive preparatory work, we succeeded in July 2024 in gaining not only the General Special Needs School (ASO) but also the Elementary School and the Schöffel Middle School as Nature Park Schools. With the additional designation of these schools in June 2024, Purkersdorf has become the first municipality in Lower Austria to establish a Nature Park School Campus. Nature Park Schools have incorporated the local nature park into their guiding principles and integrate nature park-related topics into their teaching. Over the past year, we compiled exciting offerings for the Nature Park Schools by securing several third-party funding projects (such as the Research Lab on the Vienna River and Climate Research), which directly channeled funds to the schools. For 2025, we have already successfully acquired a new project, "Wasser Marsch", for the schools.

On Biodiversity Day 2024, the nature park team, together with students, crafted seed bombs and helped children and young people understand the importance of nature and its incredible diversity.

With the ASO, we continued the long-established "Nature Park Tuesday", where children have the opportunity to observe the nature park team at work and assist with tasks such as stable chores or other duties in the park. Additionally, we provided a student from the ASO with a short, supervised work placement. 

Nature Park partner school Gablitz

As the pilot project "Lernraum Naturpark - Wald ist Klasse", implemented with Gablitz Elementary School from 2019 to 2023, was met with great success, the municipality of Gablitz has extended the project for an additional four years until 2027. In 2024, four forest learning days and a professional development session with the school's educators took place. 

Exciting school projects 

We launched the "Science Meets School" project in the fall of 2023, and it was successfully continued over the past year. In the schoolyard and along Schwarzhubergasse, we planted a climate hedge, enabling the children to begin their research in spring 2024. At regular intervals, they recorded the characteristics of the plants (leaf budding, flowering, fruit ripening, and leaf fall) as well as weather conditions (temperature, sunshine duration, and precipitation). The relationships between these factors were then discussed during lessons. 

With the "Forscher-Lab am Wienfluss", we enhanced the existing water information station along the nature trail by adding new seating, a table, and a new water research kit. The kit, accessible exclusively to Nature Park Schools, contains items such as magnifying glasses, buckets, thermometers, and identification guides. This allows schools to enjoy engaging outdoor lessons, where they can observe the unique natural features of the Vienna River. During the summer semester of 2024, several lessons accompanied by forest education professionals took place, and the insights gained were later discussed in class. At the schools' summer festival in June, students showcased their eventful research days and shared the experiences they had gathered. The damage tothe research station caused by the September 2024 floods was repaired by autumn, ensuring that the station will be fully operational again by the summer semester of 2025. 

Forest pedagogy and education programs 

In addition to our offerings for schools, this year we also organized a diverse program of events for all age groups, ranging from birdwatching tours and herb walks to healing mushrooms and forest bathing. Our program was varied and well-attended. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our popular Nature Park Festival, which had been meticulously planned, at short notice due to flood damage. 

In 2024, we introduced a new format called "Walk&Talk", which allowed visitors to gain behind-the-scenes insight into the work of the nature park. Particularly popular was a tour featuring our young sheep "Flocke", guided by our staff expert, as well as a walk to the Rudolfswarte on the topic of "light pollution", held as part of the Long Night of Nature Parks. 

During our activity days on the Feihlerhöhe, students had the opportunity on the first day to explore the craft of scythe mowing, the importance of insects, and the unique features of the Feilerhöhe through a variety of interactive stations. Unfortunately, the second day, which was planned for a collective scythe-mowing session with volunteer helpers, had to be canceled at short notice due to the unexpected absence of our scythe expert. 

Preparatory work for the Waldwerkstatt

In 2024, we made significant progress toward our long-standing goal of transforming the existing wooden laboratory building at the Nature Park Center into a weatherproof learning space for regular nature-based lessons for school classes. In recent years, our funding applications have repeatedly required a detailed submission plan with precise cost estimates for the various trades, as requested by the funding authority. To address this, in autumn 2024, we secured an external project and commissioned a local architect to conduct a feasibility study and create a submission-ready plan. This study now provides a solid foundation for successfully applying for a funding project in 2025. 

Nature meets book 

The long-standing close cooperation with the Purkersdorf Town Library was continued and expanded over the past year. As part of the "Nature Meets Book" project, the Purkersdorf Nature Park lent approximately 60 specialist books to the library, where they are available for borrowing. At two "Reading in the Green" events and on three "Experience Tuesdays" held in the foyer of the education center, the nature park organized and hosted information stands on fascinating topics. For this innovative project, the Purkersdorf Town Library was nominated for the 2024 Lower Austria Library Award in the category of Offer and Multifunctionality.  

Our objectives 

According to the Nature Park Concept 2019, our primary goal is the gentle development of the existing nature park area through the maintenance and expansion of thematic trails. Additionally, we aimed to better integrate the previously overlooked Vienna River. 

The main focus of the 2024 work program was the completion of the nature tourism development concept initiated at the end of 2022, particularly the establishment of three new thematic trails, which are summarized in the "Experience Map", as well as the creation of an accompanying brochure.

Our achievements

Maintenance of the nature park infrastructure 

A significant and demanding part of our work involves maintaining the nature park infrastructure. Our facilities are continuously serviced, repaired, and renewed. The nature park team takes on numerous tasks that ease the burden on the municipal administration, particularly in monitoring and cleaning the playgrounds. Rotten and weathered picnic tables were either repaired or replaced, and we expanded our rest areas by adding additional picnic tables. We transformed the area in front of the Sängerbrunnen into a more welcoming recreational spot by installing a deadwood hedge along the old fence by the B44. As water has become an increasingly important topic for our visitors, we believe the Sängerbrunnen should be reactivated. If this is not possible, it should at least serve as a drinking water station with a push-button system.

Repair of flood damage 

The storm and subsequent flooding from September 14th to 16th also impacted the nature park. Significant damage occurred particularly along the Nature Park Adventure Trail parallel to the Vienna River and on sections of the Beech Trail, caused by flooding and landslides. Additionally, falling branches damaged the roof of the wooden laboratory at the Nature Park Center. By the end of the year, we managed to repair almost all of the damage; however, the seating areas at the water research station and the contents of the kit will only be restored in spring 2025.

Further development of nature tourism 

In 2024, we successfully completed activities aimed at advancing nature tourism development. In 2022 and 2023, we standardized the signage at the nature park entrances and unified the design of the information boards to create a consistent appearance.

In 2024, we continued this development with funding provided by the state of Lower Austria. By far the most visible "nature tourism" symbol of the nature park—especially for the approximately 10,000 vehicles passing daily on the B44—were the two large banners on the B44 Nature Park Bridge, which highlighted the entrance to the nature park. Unfortunately, our prominent visibility signal was destroyed by vandalism in September; however, new banners have already been ordered. A key focus of the past year was the creation of "Points of Interest" (POIs) along the three new thematic trails, which included signage and markings featuring QR codes.

The Beech Trail, which circles the nature park, focuses on the themes of trees, soil, and forests. Using the QR codes placed along the trail, visitors can now access background information about the Points of Interest (POIs) on our website while enjoying their walk. 

The Schöffel Trail, which runs along the steep northern slope from the "Kopf" (near the Sängerbrunnen) to the "Stein" (the monument at the Schöffelstein), features new Points of Interest (POIs) providing information about Josef Schöffel and his connection to our sustainable forestry practices.

The former nature trail has become the "Nature Adventure Trail." We enhanced the existing blind-date stations, children's stations, and water stations by adding additional Points of Interest (POIs).

We have combined the three new trails into an "Experience Map," providing visitors with improved and modern orientation. This map is displayed on two large information boards at the entrances to the nature park, included in the newly printed information brochure, and offered on the website as a hiking map.

Our obejctives 

For us, regional development means strengthening cooperation key regional partner organizations and surrounding communities, as well as expanding collaboration with local producers. 

In the 2024 work program, we set out to strengthen the community's connection to the nature park and involve them more actively in our work processes.

Our achievements 

Public relations work 

With our media efforts, we aim not only to make the services and offerings of the nature park accessible to the widest possible audience but also to highlight the importance of climate and nature conservation in daily life. 

In the official gazette of the town of Purkersdorf, we have long been using a double-page spread to share information about the latest news, nature tips, and to introduce our team. We are also regularly featured in the official gazette of the market town of Gablitz. 

We regularly provide press releases and photos to the regional print media (NÖN and Bezirksblätter), ensuring consistently positive coverage for newspaper readers.

Our website was recently praised as exemplary by nature tourism experts. We primarily use it as a reliable source of information, documenting our offerings and projects, providing tourist tips on the attractions of the nature and cultural city of Purkersdorf, and maintaining an archieve on the development of the nature park since its founding. In 2024, our website received an average of approximately 1,500 visits per month, with peak traffic of 2,000 in May and a minimum of 650 in December.   

We have established social media channels on both Facebook and Instagram, allowing us to reach a predominantly younger audience. On these platforms, we post photos and updates several times a week, which appear to resonate well with our target group. By the end of 2024, we had nearly 2,300 followers on Facebook and slightly over 700 on Instagram, where we only started a few years ago.

Involving the population in nature park development 

As mentioned, as part of the new concept, we conducted an online survey among our visitors, which we promoted through our website, social media, print media, and on the noticeboard at Rathausplatz. With 87 participants, we received significantly more responses than expected. Slightly more than half of the respondents provided their names and email addresses to participate in the prize draw or the "Nature Park Round Table". Through the survey, we gathered insights into the general expectations and potential frustrations of guests during their visits, assessed their perceptions of our facilities, and asked them to identify the key development priorities the nature park should focus on over the next five years.

In our report, we can only highlight a few key findings due to space constraints. Detailed information has been documented on our website.

The vast majority of respondents expect a visit to the nature park to provide relaxation and recreation, the chance to discover and experience nature, as well as an engaging and diverse nature experience for children. Visitors value well-signposted hiking trails and information boards. When asked what sometimes disrupts their nature experience, 70% of responses mentioned "unleashed dogs," nearly half cited "litter," and roughly one-third pointed to "mountain bikers."

Our facilities were rated consistently as good to very good by respondents; however, the most valuable insights come from responses indicating areas for improvement. While the animal enclosures are a major attraction for all visitors and received excellent ratings, the forest play areas showed potential for enhancement: a quarter of the surveyed guests suggested improving the playground at the nature park center. It was also surprising that, among our many trails, only the nature trail and the path around the wild boar enclosure are well-known, while many other trails were unfamiliar to about 30–45% of guests. The "landmark points" were consistently well-rated, with the Rudolfswarte and Feilerhöhe leading the rankings. The nature park center itself was the area most often identified as needing improvement, with 14% of respondents saying it "should be better." Within the facilities at the nature park center, only a few areas were marked for improvement—primarily the wood lab and the Wienerwald farmers' exhibition, where 14% of participants also responded with "should be better."

We will take the feedback into account in our upcoming projects, including the redesign of the play area at the nature park center as part of the construction of the forest workshop and the re-signposting of the "less well-known" trails. Regarding the Wienerwald farmers' exhibition, which appears to be less appealing to our visitors, the decision on whether to redesign or completely replace the museum remains uncertain.

Cooperation with facilities of the municipality of Purkersdorf 

Our most important regional cooperation partner is the municipality of Purkersdorf and its institutions, such as the schools mentioned in the context of education or the city library. Last year, we began preparing for formal collaboration with the adult education center (Volkshochschule); as a result, starting in 2025, we will be officially included in the VHS program (e.g., with a course on handling brush cutters, an introduction to scythe mowing, and a herb walk). The long-planned and widely promoted Nature Park and Climate Festival, which traditionally takes place around September 20th in collaboration with the municipality, unfortunately had to be canceled at short notice in 2024 due to flood damage.

To enhance the visibility of the nature park and strengthen its connection to the community, we set up an information station in the town hall at the end of the year, featuring a tree and wood species quiz board.

Networking with regional partners  

The good collaboration with the neighboring municipality of Gablitz has already been mentioned. In doing so, the nature park contributes to bridging municipal boundaries.

We also share a long-standing partnership with the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve (BPWW). In 2024, the nature park and BPWW jointly planned several activities and promoted events together. A BPWW team assisted us during the scythe mowing day at Feihlerhöhe, while we, in return, managed an activity station for the BPWW at the Biosphere Reserve Cup in the Mauerbach Charterhouse.

Maintaining connections with the Urban-Suburban Management (SUM) of the states of Vienna and Lower Austria remains important to us. This platform primarily facilitates exchanges on the design and preservation of recreational areas in the Vienna metropolitan region, particularly for those areas in Lower Austria that are heavily frequented by visitors from Vienna.

The close and long-standing collaboration with Sparbach Nature Park continued in 2024. We supported each other at various events, such as their Spring Festival, where we were present with an interactive station. At the management level, close contacts remain between CEO Orosel and Ms. Käfer.

To integrate the nature park into existing regional structures, the nature park team visited the Klissenbauer-Hof in Dambachtal, where they exchanged insights on the care and management of sheep and goats.

The Wienerwald Inn Klugmayer is a traditional tavern located directly adjacent to the nature park, with which it has maintained a decades-long collaboration. To strengthen this partnership, the Wienerwald Inn received the Nature Park Gastro Partner award in 2023, and in the summer of 2024, it was officially recognized as a Nature Park Partner by Nature Park Lower Austria.

Nature park products

The collaboration with beekeeper "Bieno" Benno Karner, which began in 2014, continues to thrive. For 10 years now, our nature park beekeeper has been keeping bees at the nature park center and Feihlerhöhe, offering certified nature park honey. We take great pride in maintaining such enduring and valuable partnerships. In 2024, we once again organized a honey extraction demonstration, which proved popular, and held the fourth edition of the label design competition, particularly well-received by children. Unfortunately, our search for additional nature park products (e.g., forest beer or woodruff ice cream) remained fruitless in 2024, but we remain optimistic for 2025. On the other hand, our "nature park services" are developing very well. We collaborate successfully with local and regional providers who use our nature park for forest-themed children’s birthday parties, nature holiday camps, yoga courses, and forest bathing.