Medal of honor for Beate Kerkhofer: strong commitment to nature!

Medal of honor for Beate Kerkhofer: strong commitment to nature!

An outstanding personalities from our region received a special honor last Friday in the Brandenburg state parliament. Beate Kerkhofer, the 1st chair of the Schönower Heideverein e. V., was awarded the medal of honor of the state parliament. The award was initiated by the member of the state parliament Martina Maxi Schmidt, who praised Kerkhofer's eulogy in her laudation in the nature and environmental area. She emphasized that Kerkhofer always shows a strong ecological sense of responsibility in her pedagogical vision.

Kerkhofer has worked intensively for the preservation and maintenance of the Schönower Heide, an impressive natural area of ​​over 500 hectares. Under your direction, the Schönower Heideverein e. V. Happed numerous projects that benefit not only nature, but also the formation of children and adolescents. Outstanding is the close cooperation with the Schönow primary school, which recently as the first school in the Barnim Nature Park with the nationwide certificate of the Association of German Nature Park e. V. was awarded. This award took place on April 9 and occupied the successful commitment of the school for sustainable education, as reported by the state government.

environmental education in focus

Thanks to the active support of Beate Kerkhofer, pupils from the Schönow primary school have already actively participated in environmental projects. This includes the construction of nesting boxes for endangered bird species such as the hole. Last year, seven breeding pairs of the Wiedhopf in the Heide could be counted. In order to be able to hold these exciting developments visually, an interior camera with live transmission is currently being installed, which is supposed to observe nest life.

The headmistress Astrid Huwe raises the enrichment of the lessons through the cooperation with the Schönower Heideverein e. V. and the Barnim nature park. This collaboration already has many positive effects on the students who also become active with garbage bags and gripping tongs during the annual spring cleaning.

commitment to sustainable development

The concept of the Nature Park School is part of a larger network that the Association of German Nature Parking e. V. was launched to promote education initiatives between nature parks and schools. There are topics of topics such as nature, landscape, regional culture, craft as well as agriculture and forestry. In addition to the Schönow primary school, there are a total of ten other nature park schools in Brandenburg, which pursue all similar goals and work for the implementation of the global sustainability goals (SDGS).

In this context, regional award events for Education for Sustainable Development (BNE) also take place regularly. Here, daycare, schools, companies and clubs are awarded that are committed to sustainable educational offers and a positive development of society. Over 300 initiatives have been awarded since 2016. The last event took place on March 27, 2025 and ensures that the commitment to sustainability is also appreciated accordingly.

Beate Kerkhofer's merit is recognized by the medal of honor of the state parliament, which is awarded to citizens who have made themselves particularly well deserved for the common good. Your work not only inspires the people in the Barnim region, but also serves as an exemplary model for sustainable and environmentally conscious education.