Green Angel: Environment Minister honors dedicated Geretsrieder

Created: 02/10/2022, 18:44

By: Dominik Stallein

A Green Angel: Geretsrieder Peter Beck (left) received the award from Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr.

© environment ministry

Peter Beck tended the school garden on the Isardamm for many years.

Before that, his wife took care of it for over 30 years.

Geretsried – Instead of in the gray classroom, the children should be able to learn where something is stirring, where it is blooming, where it is colourful: school gardens are special places of learning.

Peter Beck from Geretsried took care of the system at the Isardammschule in Geretsried for many years.

For this commitment, the 84-year-old was recently honored with the Green Angel – an award from the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment.

Green Angel: Environment Minister honors dedicated Geretsrieder

The Geretsrieder practically inherited the task: his wife Renate initiated the school garden.

For 36 years she was a teacher at the Isardammschule.

After her death, Beck took over the care of the 300 square meter garden in 2007 and kept the "natural variety of flowers with hedges and pond" in good shape, as the Bavarian Minister for the Environment Thorsten Faithr said in his laudatory speech.

"Watering flowers, pulling weeds, trimming hedges, tending ponds - professional tending of the school garden is time-consuming and hard work," said the Minister of State in praise of Beck's commitment.

Geretsried: Environmental work was "natural" for Peter Beck

"For me, the commitment was a matter of course," says Beck modestly in an interview with our newspaper.

He was determined to continue his wife's work - "she took care of it with passion for 30 years".

"As a pensioner, I had time anyway, and the rector always gave me backing," remembers Geretsrieder.

In the meantime, the 84-year-old has retired from tending the school garden due to age.

For a while, his daughter, who had previously helped him again and again, took care of it.

"She showed me a lot that I lacked professionally at the beginning," explains Beck.

Meanwhile, the garden maintenance is in other hands.

Read the latest news from Geretsried here.

Inken Domany from the environmental office in the town hall is happy about the award for Peter Beck.

"He deserves this recognition," she says.

In addition, the Green Angel is also an "honorable souvenir" for his wife.

In the course of the work in the school garden, Domany would have got to know the commitment of the Geretsrieder.

"Mrs. Beck designed it really nicely, especially the pond." You can see the couple's great commitment in the garden.

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