Closed green areas in Regensburg: lack of staff in the garden office - but help is taboo

Created: 05/07/2022, 18:50

By: Stefan Aigner

Since May 5, 2021, the entrances to the hiking trails on the Winzerer Höhen have been provided with barriers - due to a lack of staff in the Regensburg City Garden Office.

© Rita Lell

The problem is well known: the garden department of the city of Regensburg has too few staff to be able to fulfill all its tasks.

But it doesn't get any help. 

Regensburg – Julian Rieder was happy to help.

“I live right next to Hegenauer Park and often meet up with friends and neighbors there.

I'm also happy to make a contribution so that it's pleasant here.” Georg-Hegenauer-Park is a gem in the south of Regensburg.

Completed in 1989, the 4.9 hectare green area is one of the more recent parks in the district capital - with facilities for all age groups.

There is a picnic lawn and long grass meadow as well as a playground for children with a tube slide and water jets.

With a little stream, generously designed water areas and – on the opposite hilltop – an invitingly designed Kneipp facility.

But it has to be cleaned every week – and this is where the problem begins.

Regensburg: Due to a lack of staff in the garden office – hiking trails are closed for a year

The city garden office, which is responsible for maintaining the city's green spaces, has too few staff.

This has been known for a long time.

This had a noticeable effect, for example, when the hiking trails on the Winzerer Höhen were closed for almost a year.

Due to a lack of sufficient personnel capacity, trees in danger of breaking could not be felled or cut and paths could not be cleared - the city of Regensburg would have been liable in the event of accidents.

And so they made do with barriers and bans on entering.

In the meantime, the Winzerer Höhen have been rededicated from a green area to a city forest.

This drastically reduces the duties of the gardening department, and the city can no longer be held liable for "typical forest hazards" - a solution that was universally approved by the Regensburg city council.

But the basic problem remains.

"The garden office is at its performance limit with the green area maintenance due to the increase in green areas to be maintained and due to new requirements such as the disposal of the increased amount of waste, the increased consideration of biodiversity (flowering meadows, insect biotopes) and cannot meet all requirements," it says rightly openly from the municipal press office.

Regensburg: lack of staff in the garden office - Volunteers used to be welcome

In the past, therefore, the help of volunteers was always welcomed.

So also that of Julian Rieder.

The 36-year-old lives on Ziegetsberg near Georg-Hegenauer-Park.

And he describes the Kneipp facility with its pergola as a meeting place for the entire neighborhood.

And because he also regularly talked to the employees of the city garden office there, he offered his help and took over the cleaning of the large water treading pool every week.

"I was happy to do the two hours of scrubbing every week," he says.

And the responsible district master was also grateful for the help.

It was very uncomplicated. "I just had to sign a letter stating that I would release the city from liability if I actually smashed my head while scrubbing," he laughs.

But this year the water treading pool will remain closed.

While the pump is running and supplies the two arm pools with water, the inlet to the treading pool has been screwed off, it remains dry and cannot be entered.

The reason given by the municipal press office is not very enlightening: "This year the support from the volunteers is not enough to operate the large water treading pool, so that the arm pools can be operated, but unfortunately the treading pool cannot." And it's not true either agree with what employees of the city garden office said to him.

Regensburg: Volunteers suddenly unwanted - insurance reasons?

He told us that he offered his help again this year.

The responsible district master of the city garden office would have liked to accept that, but he was probably forbidden to do so.

"He told me that he was no longer allowed to use volunteers for insurance reasons."

Rieder described the city's official justification to our editorial team as false and probably pretended.

“The work would be exactly the same.

Scrubbing for two hours every Friday.

That's what I would do too.

Nothing has changed about that.” He would have released the city from liability again at any time, but apparently someone had discovered a small thing, which is why it doesn’t work now.

The red tape whinnies violently and, as Rieder puts it, "Ziegetsdorf loses".

The same probably applies to other volunteer helpers who have supported the garden department in the past.

"We can no longer accept their help," says an insider.

"Though we would need them badly."

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