Excursions

Parallel post-conference excursions will be offered on Friday September 2, to give you insight into various ecological, historical, and touristic aspects of Switzerland.

The excursions will be available at low to moderate costs and if possible organized by public transport.

On all excursions, hiking boots are required. Please take the length of the walks indicated in the description of the excursions seriously.

Do not plan for too tight connections to departing flights etc..

Excursion 1: Bödmeren – Forest history of a primeval forest in the pre-Alps

Human impact on the land have never been uniform: Even in Switzerland, there are forests, which some experts rate as primeval. Such an example is the pre-Alpine forest Bödmeren, located in the Canton Schwyz. We will visit a rather wild and rugged forest and hear about the long history of human activities in and around this forest. Does it qualify as primeval? You can form your own opinion after this excursion. Scenic travel back and forth by railway, small busses will be available from Muotathal.

Guided by Anton Schuler Remark: From 1980 to 2006, Anton Schuler was professor of Forest History at the ETH Zurich. As a deputy leader of the IUFRO Forest History Group, he organized a conference in Switzerland, in September 1984 – participants still remember the excursion in snow and ice... 

Excursion 2: Swiss lowland forests – history, management, conservation in the Niderholz

Swiss lowland forests have been used and managed intensively. In the Niderholz, we will see innovative solutions for balancing the the demands of various interests on community forests today. The excursion will be guided by Erich Oberholzer, who recently retired as head forester of this region. He has has in-depth knowledge on the history, management and conservation of the Niderholz. We will have lunch at a typical restaurant. In the afternoon, we will visit the Minster of Rheinau, one of the most beautiful baroque churches of Switzerland.

Guided by Erich Oberholzer Remark: The train back to Zurich stops at the airport (16:38). People who want to go directly to the airport after the excursion can leave their baggage in Erich Oberholzer’s car during the day

Excursion 3: History of Tourism in the Alps – a voyage to the Rigi

In the late 18^th century, after centuries of cattle herding and alpine dairy farming, the Rigi mountain became one of the early tourist destinations in the Alps. We will travel to the mountaintop by mountain railway, hike from Rigi Kulm to Rigi Scheidegg, and take the cable car for the return journey. Between walks, we will talk about the history of tourism, cheesemaking, and alpine cattle herding in the Swiss Alps.

Guided by Matthias Bürgi

Remark: Rigi still is one of the classic tourist destinations – so you will see all the pros and cons of such a place, i.e., nature not untouched...

Excursion 4: Land use change and conservation of calcareous grasslands in the Jura

The peripheral region of the Table Jura Randen in Northern Switzerland experienced a dramatic period of land use and landscape change during the last 500 years. Historically, the shallow soils only allowed for modest agriculture, and the local communities were accordingly poor. The area was devastated during the Thirty-Years war of the 17th Century, only became politically free by 1839 and suffered from extensive emigration to the USA in the 18th and 19th Century. A considerable part of the agricultural land was then abandoned, and dry forests and species-rich calcareous grasslands resulted from low-intensity farming. At the beginning of the 20th Century, this park-like landscape attracted rich people from urban centers, who built many wooden huts for their summer holidays. While the Randen is currently one of Switzerland's most species-rich areas, agricultural intensification and new housing estates recently started to change the landscape and the local communities once again. During this excursion, we will learn about the landscape history of the Randen and the conservation efforts to secure its calcareous dry grasslands.

Guided by Rolf Holderegger

Remark: The walk leads from Merishausen to the Randen Plateau, with a great view into Southern Germany, and back to Merishausen

Excursion 5: From Rothenthurm to Einsiedeln - from mires to monks

o The region of Rothenthurm hosts the largest remaining mire landscape of Switzerland. During a short walk we will explore legacies of past land use (e.g., peat mining), discuss the central role of this landscape for the history of nature protection in Switzerland and learn about a mire restoration project. In the afternoon we will visit the Benedictine Abbey of Einsiedeln, which is probably the most prominent witness of ecclesiastical architecture in Switzerland. We will enjoy a guided tour in the monastery's archive and have a glance at documents dating back to early medieval times - of course with a special focus on sources of interest for historical ecologists.

Guided by Urs Gimmi and Meinrad Küchler

Remark: Limited to 20 participants, as transportation by small busses.