This year's competition focused on the topics of biodiversity and renaturation. The district environmental award of the Saarlouis district was presented for the 35th time this year and was endowed with a total of 5,000 euros for the second time.
In the Great Meeting Hall of the Saarlouis District Office, Petra Berg, Minister for Environment, Climate, Mobility, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Saarlouis District Administrator Patrik Lauer, and Claudia Beck, Deputy of the Saarlouis District and Head of the District Committee for Environment, Climate Protection, Tourism and Agriculture, recently crowned the winners. The event was hosted by Monika Lambert-Debong, Head of the Department for Climate Protection, Environment, Regional Development and Tourism. The musical accompaniment was provided by Nils Kurzyca on guitar.
By choosing the topic "Promotion of biodiversity through renaturation measures as well as measures to protect native flora and fauna," the district council of the Saarlouis district initiated the 2023 Environmental Award in its January meeting. The awarded projects are intended on the one hand to demonstrate what is possible and feasible. On the other hand, they are meant to motivate others to follow suit and also commit themselves to the environment and nature, as well as to climate and species protection. The Saarlouis district has been awarding the Environmental Prize since 1985 on topics of special ecological relevance.
District Administrator Patrik Lauer addressed the societal importance of biodiversity and renaturation in his welcome speech: "A loss of biodiversity and the resulting deterioration of ecosystems can have significant negative impacts on the lives of all living beings. In particular, external influences threaten the stability of certain structures – entire systems can consequently collapse. It is all the more important that there are people committed to preserving biodiversity and promoting renaturation. These are issues that affect us all, and we can, should, must all be part of a solution."
Saarland Environment Minister Petra Berg praised both the commitment of the participants and the quality of the submissions. She warmly congratulated the award winners and emphasized their role as role models. She also appealed to the guests: "Let us continue to work together to ensure that Saarland remains a good and desirable place to live tomorrow. We can all do something for environmental protection and the climate. Together, we can achieve this."
The open call for submissions for the district environmental award made it possible for projects with various focuses to be submitted. After reviewing the entries, the jury agreed to award this year’s district environmental prize in three categories: garden, renaturation, and orchard meadow. In the garden category, Ruth Müller-Gruthoff and Reinhard Gruthoff from Schwarzenholz impressed with their natural garden design. In the renaturation category, the NABU local group Saarlouis/Dillingen stood out with their project at the Dillinger Ökosee. The orchard meadow category, however, resulted in a tied first place: both Sandra and Luca Wernet from Schwalbach as well as Mareike and Christian Kelkel from Biringen, who maintain a meadow together with the municipality of Rehlingen-Siersburg, managed to impress the jury with their sites.
For the 2023 Environmental Award of the Saarlouis district, individuals, companies, authorities, schools, organizations, and clubs from the Saarlouis district were eligible to apply. The evaluation of the submitted applications was carried out by a jury consisting of members of the district council committee for environment, climate protection, tourism, and agriculture.
