Observe. Discover. Reflect. Impulses @ Climate Change Garden
The impulses @ Climate Change Garden* are designed to encourage visitors to pause and view the city through a new lens. As you walk between shaded areas and sunny spots, and take in the blossoms and paved surfaces, you will discover traces of climate change in our urban environment, such as heat islands, cool retreats and havens of biodiversity.
Further information about projects and events, as well as the exhibits, will gradually be made available on this website. From autumn 2025, a QR code on a sign in the Climate Change Garden will link to this website.
We are currently working on creating short prompts to encourage observation, discovery and reflection.
- Observe: Where and how is climate change manifesting itself in our city and its surrounding areas?
- Discover: What plants and animals live here, and where can we find shelter?
- Reflect: What effect does this place have on you? How can we make our cities more resilient to climate change?
The aim is for visitors to the Climate Change Garden to pause, follow the prompts and explore our city in transition.
Starting in spring 2026, we will be offering small learning and encounter events in the garden for and with university students, school pupils and citizens.
Building on our experience of transdisciplinary projects on urban heat adaptation and climate change learning, we are developing:
- Heat Adaptation for Vulnerable Populations (HEAL), which includes a routing app for navigating on hot days, as well as concepts for interactive heat workshops and thermal walks.
- Educational materials from the Stay Cool! project.
- a digital self-study course, 'Critical Literacy for Climate Action' (CL4CA).
Links
The initiatives in the Climate Change Garden form part of our Transformative Environmental Research (TrafU) projects, as well as our research and teaching activities within the 3DGeo Research Group at the Geographical Institute of Heidelberg University. They are also part of the supplementary sustainability qualification at the Heidelberg School of Education, which is a joint institution of the university and the Heidelberg University of Education. We have collaborated with the City of Heidelberg for many years, benefiting from the exchange between science and practice. We are planning a collaboration with the State Teaching and Research Institute for Horticulture (LVG) in Heidelberg and other partners.
Team
- Dr Nicole Aeschbach is a senior scientist in the 3DGeo research group at the Institute of Geography at Heidelberg University and a research associate at the Heidelberg School of Education (HSE).
- Dr Kathrin Foshag: Senior researcher at the TD Lab Geography at the Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, and project coordinator at the Heidelberg School of Education (HSE).
- Hanna Wörne: Master of Education student specialising in Mathematics and Geography; research associate in the TrafU project. Transformative Environmental Research at the Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University and the HSE's supplementary qualification programme in sustainability.
Contact:
Dr Nicole Aeschbach: nicole.aeschbach@uni-heidelberg.de
*The climate change garden is being created on part of the grounds of the Clinic for General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, which is part of the University Hospital Heidelberg's Center for Internal Medicine and Center for Psychosocial Medicine. It is also being created on the adjacent area of the University of Heidelberg's Center for Asian Studies and Transcultural Studies (CATS) in the Bergheim district.