FörTax: New Approaches to Expanding Species Knowledge

“We are not only witnessing a loss of biodiversity on our doorstep, but also a loss of knowledge about it. We wanted to change that with FörTax. We want to preserve what we know and love. That is why our aim was to inspire people to take an interest in nature and its biodiversity – because when people discover the diversity on our doorstep, they understand its value and develop a desire to protect it.”

– Dr Katja Waskow, project coordinator

Learning from one another

Who is going to protect our environment if nobody knows the names of animals, plants and fungi anymore? This is precisely where the FörTax project (“Promoting taxonomic knowledge as a basis for nature conservation”) came in. The LIB took on the overall coordination and led the Germany-wide survey with the aim of determining the actual demand for taxonomic specialists within public authorities, consultancy firms and in research.

At the same time, the FörTax data portal, which, for the first time, brings together nationwide taxonomic training programmes for various groups of organisms. The portal is freely accessible to the public in accordance with the Fair Data principle. A comprehensive specialist brochure, due to be published shortly, highlights examples of best practice and provides recommendations for teaching species identification.

A strong community

In addition, the LIB has been organising the nationwide online conference FörTaxCon every two years. The aim: to promote direct dialogue between specialist societies, educational institutions, policymakers and the general public. It was a huge success: originally conceived as an in-person event with around 100 participants, more than 500 people interested in nature conservation connected digitally at the very first of three conferences. They also selected the winners of the ‘ARTenkenntnis’ drawing competition.

Participatory educational formats

The LIB implemented a wide range of formats for children and young people to teach species identification. Over the years, interested young people in the FörTax Club explored taxonomy, developed their own formats for teaching species identification and took part in public engagement activities. Through regular field trips and holiday excursions, they deepened their knowledge and identified species directly in the natural environment. Partnerships with nurseries and schools complemented these activities and laid the foundations for an interest in nature among hundreds of children and young people.

“The enthusiasm shown by the children and young people in the FörTax Club, in the extracurricular groups and on the field trips showed us every week just how huge their interest in nature is. You just need to give them the tools and space to let that spirit of discovery flourish.”

– Karsten Stehr, member of staff on the FörTax project

Strong alliances

A project of this scale can only succeed as a team effort. The LIB worked closely with the Department of Biology Education at the University of Bonn and DELATTINIA – Naturforschende Gesellschaft des Saarlandes e. V. DELATTINIA established the Saarland Academy for Species Identification (SAKA) and specifically targeted students, teachers and interested adults with practical course handbooks and specialist courses covering over 30 species groups, such as insects, mosses, fungi, lichens and slime moulds. The Department of Biology Education regularly evaluated all course formats to ensure long-term quality and developed its own programmes such as the Heupferdchen.

Key findings and looking ahead

FörTax made an essential contribution to the LIB’s core strategy. Through its diverse range of programmes, the project helped to inspire people’s enthusiasm for nature and to work together with society on concrete solutions for the conservation of biodiversity.

Over the course of its six-year duration, however, it became apparent that one-off educational programmes are rarely sufficient. To build up species knowledge in a sustainable way, continuous learning pathways are needed, ranging from beginners to advanced learners. Equally important are stable, long-term funded networks that transcend institutional boundaries. The LIB aims to continue and expand these initiatives.

Key project details

• Project name: FörTax (Promoting taxonomic knowledge as a basis for nature conservation)
• Field: Environmental education , taxonomy and biodiversity research
• Duration: September 2020 to August 2026 (extended to December 2026)
• Project budget: approximately 4.1 million euros (of which 2 million LIB)
• Funding: Funded under the Federal Programme for Biological Diversity by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV)
• Project partners:
• Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) – Museum Koenig Bonn (coordination)
• University of Bonn (Department of Biology Education)
• DELATTINIA – Saarland Natural History Society e. V.
• Website: www.foertax.de
• Social media: Instagram : instagram.com/foertax/ Facebook: facebook.com/foertax/ Bluesky: foertax.bsky.social
• Videos: The project produced numerous educational films on entomology.