Forest detectives - understanding green giants
Under the term "nature deficit syndrome", researchers have been warning for some time now of various problems resulting from a progressive alienation of young people from nature, both for the children and young people concerned and for society as a whole. In cooperation with the German Environmental Foundation, we are initiating the project "Forest Detectives - Understanding Green Giants" with the aim of sensitizing children and young people in grades 4-6 in Hesse to the importance of forests and strengthening their awareness of this ecosystem.
Climate change and biodiversity loss dominate the media and yet remain abstract. The forest on our doorstep is real and very much threatened by hot summers, pesticides and monocultures. With a hybrid learning journey in the classroom and directly in the forest, the project contributes to ecological awareness raising and expands learning and knowledge competence through an interdisciplinary approach. For this purpose, age-appropriate learning materials are made available to schools and teachers, which can be used directly in the classroom.
All participating classes receive a poster on the forest ecosystem for use in class, which leads to further digital information on the Forest Detectives website. In addition, interested classes can apply for research backpacks to conduct experiments on site in the forest.
In a poster competition at the end of the school year, students can creatively present their knowledge about the forest. An expert jury will evaluate the posters and award prizes to the best entries. The winners are invited to the closing event in Frankfurt am Main, where they have the opportunity to exchange ideas with forest experts and other students.
The project will be continuously evaluated to identify potential for improvement and to ensure the project's success in the long term. Interviews, questionnaires and analysis of the quiz results are among the tools used for this purpose.
Closing event for the nationwide Forest Detectives Programme 2026
The 2025/2026 school year marks the end of the third year of the ‘Forest Detectives’ environmental education project. Another cohort that has once again exceeded all expectations!
In total, over 800 school classes across Germany took part in the project and gained a better understanding of their local forest ecosystem through interactive learning activities. The project provides not only ready-made learning materials but also so-called ‘research backpacks’ containing suggested experiments for a forest outing. Following the optional trips to their local woodland, the participating classes can creatively capture what they have learnt in the form of posters.
An overwhelming number of entries – over 500 posters – made the task difficult for the jury, comprising experts in science and communication as well as educators.
The three winners of the 2025/2026 Forest Detectives competition are
1st place: Year 6 at the Otto-Hahn Schule in Hanau (Hesse)
2nd place: Forest Class 4.1 at the Grundschule am Stadtpark in Neunkirchen (Saarland)
3rd place: Class 5A at the Lutki Grunschulel in Sielow, Cottbus (Brandenburg)
The winning classes were invited to Frankfurt for a day out. The day began with a guided tour on the theme of the rainforest at Frankfurt Zoo
After the tours, the group went for lunch at Villa102, followed by the awards ceremony and the presentation of the winners’ certificates.
Once again, our heartfelt thanks go to all the participating pupils, to all the dedicated teachers and to our partner, the Deutsche Umwelt Stiftung, for another successful year of the project!
All entries from the participating classes can now be viewed in the Forest Detectives’ virtual exhibition.
Closing event for the nationwide Forest Detectives Programme 2025
A warm June day in Frankfurt – and a very special occasion for three school classes: on 18 June 2025, they were honoured for their outstanding posters on the forest ecosystem. Over 500 entries were submitted – a strong indication of the importance of environmental education in schools.
During the 2024/2025 school year, over 600 classes took part in the ‘Forest Detectives’ project. Following a pilot year with schools in Hesse the previous year, the project was rolled out across Germany after the 2024 summer holidays. Equipped with explorer rucksacks and interactive learning materials, children across Germany explored their local forests and created creative posters highlighting the importance of the forest as a habitat and a protector of the climate.
Together with the young Forest Detectives and our programme partner, the German Environmental Foundation, we celebrated the grand finale of the nationwide school project at Villa 102.
The following classes were selected by the jury this year:
1st place: Class 6d from the Realschule Zusmarshausen in Zusmarshausen (Bavaria)
2nd place: Class 6d from the Martin-Luther-Schule in Rimbach (Hesse)
3rd place: Class 5d from the Goethe-Schule in Bochum (North Rhine-Westphalia)
The three winning classes from Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia began the day at Frankfurt Zoo with an exciting tour of the Zoo exhibits. Afterwards, they enjoyed a group lunch of spaghetti and ice cream in the garden of Villa 102.
And then came the highlight of the day: the prize-giving ceremony for the best poster on the forest. The winning classes received prizes worth a total of 2,000 euros, as well as a winner’s certificate for the group.
A big thank you goes to all the participating pupils, teachers and partners for their fantastic collaboration!
All entries from the participating classes are now on display in the Forest Detectives’ virtual exhibition. Have fun browsing and discovering!
Final Event Forest Detectives in Hesse 2024
What does the forest actually do? How does it work? And why are there fewer and fewer of them?
The forest detectives were out and about to find the answers. Direct learning in the forest was on the programme on forest research days in Hessian schools, where many different experiments were carried out. The classes were then able to record their findings on posters and submit them to a poster competition. In the 2023/24 school year, 240 school classes across Hesse took part in the joint project of KfW Stiftung and Deutsche Umweltstiftung. At the end of the school year in Hesse in June 2024, three school classes were honoured for the best posters on the topic of ‘Forests’. The winning school classes won a trip to Frankfurt Zoo, with a guided tour on the topic of tropical forests and an award ceremony at KfW Stiftung's Villa 102.
First place went to the 4th grade of the Rossert School in Kelkheim, 2nd place to the 4th grade of the Wolfgang-Fleischert School in Röhrenfurth and 3rd place to 5a of the Carl-Von-Weinberg School in Frankfurt.
Partner
Programme Management
Pia Puljanic
Photo credits:
01. Image: Source: German Environmental Foundation, Author / Photographer: Imke Hurlin
02. Image: Source: German Environmental Foundation, Author / Photographer: Imke Hurlin
03. Image: Source: German Environmental Foundation, Author / Photographer: Imke Hurlin
04. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/ Photographer: Salar Baygan
05. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/ Photographer: Salar Baygan
06. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/ Photographer: Salar Baygan
07. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/Photographer: Inga Beckmann
08. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/Photographer: Inga Beckmann
09. Image: Source: KfW Stiftung, Author/Photographer: Inga Beckmann