Shaping the future

Children's Forest Hannover

An area that children and young people can design and plant according to their ideas and wishes.

Sign pointing to the Kinderwald Hannover — The Kinderwald is located in northwest Hanover, between Mecklenheider Forst and Stelinger Straße

At Kinderwald Hannover, children and teenagers are the ones who call the shots: They are involved from the very beginning, help with planning, roll up their sleeves and get to work to bring their ideas to life, learn about democratic decision-making, and have the opportunity to help shape their own future.

They can romp around to their heart's content, wade through the water and get dirty. They are master builders of willow villages, forest sofas and bridges, plant trees and bushes and design signposts.

In short, the children's forest is a place where they can experience nature for themselves and develop a closer relationship with nature. They encounter what grows. This doesn't just mean nature, but also the mindful understanding of people for and with each other.

The origin

The Kinderwald Hannover was created as part of a FerienCard campaign by children's songwriter Unmada Manfred Kindel.

In the spring of 2000, the seven-hectare site in northwest Hanover, located between Mecklenheider Forest and Stelinger Street, was officially designated a children’s forest. Since then, more than 1,500 new trees and shrubs have been planted.

Numerous children and adults hold hands and dance on sand around a maypole — The dance around the maypole is part of the program every year at the spring festival in the children's forest

Over the past 20 years, many play areas have been created on the basis of future workshops.

Offers

Workshops, family activities, projects, camps and festivals - children and young people, but also adults, can realize their ideas in a variety of ways and shape a part of their future and that of the Kinderwald.

The Kinderwald’s programs are primarily designed for children and teenagers between the ages of 4 and 18.
Through these activities, they can gain hands-on experience in nature and ecology, art, planning, building, and gardening, while also developing their creativity and imagination. At the same time, they learn in a practical way to better understand their own strengths and limitations, enabling them to apply this knowledge effectively when needed.

More information