10,000 trees for the Darmstadt Forest. How are the trees faring today?
01.10.2025 | Sustainability
Together with HessenForst, we planted 10,000 trees in three different areas between 2021 and 2023. We went back to visit the planted areas again in May 2025 to discover how the little saplings are doing. Sarah, Head of Sustainability at Riese & Müller, visited the sites together with Lennart Kersting, a forestry educator working with HessenForst.
Riese & Müller builds e-bikes – what gave you the idea of planting trees?
Sarah: Five years ago, sustainability – or as we prefer to call it “responsibility” – became a cornerstone of the Riese & Müller corporate strategy. At that time, we calculated our first carbon footprint – that is, we calculated the CO2 emissions we generate as a company. Even if our buildings are constructed very energy-efficiently, an environmentally-friendly approach is deeply rooted in employees’ day-to-day work and we continue to work to reduce our environmental footprint. On balance, there are always emissions that cannot be completely eliminated based on the current technical and infrastructural situation. They might be generated directly on site in production or also in transport logistics, for instance, and the other upstream or downstream stages of the e-bike value chain.
Companies’ usual approach is then known as “climate compensation” – that is, financial support for projects that help to protect the climate – as compensation for the CO2 emissions produced.
We did just that in the early financial years, when Riese & Müller calculated its carbon footprint. We supported various certified international climate protection projects – primarily projects that also improve the quality of life and health of the local population, e.g. by financing efficient cookers in countries in the Global South, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These are valuable measures for the local population and the environment – but they are often less transparent and difficult to comprehend for us and our employees here in Germany, on the edge of the Odenwald Forest.
So we then asked ourselves whether there might also be projects here in our own country that we could support? That was back in 2021, when the effects of climate change started to become increasingly visible here in our forests.
So we discussed this with HessenForst and reached the following conclusion: we want to help the forest here in our region by planting 10,000 climate-stable saplings to reforest damaged areas of woodland in the Darmstadt Forest.
Where were the trees planted?
Lennart: The 10,000 saplings were planted in three different areas over a period of two years. We deliberately chose different areas that we planted with different tree species. After all, our objective is to have a healthy, natural mixed forest that is as resistant as possible to future climatic conditions – we do not want to create pure stands with a single tree species in a specific area. That is why we have chosen the areas, species and planting periods in such a way that we can achieve a good mix.
Why are the planted areas fenced off?
Lennart: The fence protects the samplings from damage caused by wild animals and usually remains in place until the trees are so tall that deer can no longer reach the top of the leading shoot. Compared to tree guards which enclose the individual saplings, fencing off the entire planted area is the better solution in my view, as it gives the seedlings more light. At the same time, the newly planted trees are protected from damage caused by animals, as are the naturally established young trees growing around them, which is known as “natural regeneration”. This therefore promotes the best possible natural development of a healthy, mixed forest.
You can see marks on individual trees in the forest. What do these marks actually mean?
Lennart: Good question – these are characteristics for our daily work as foresters. If you see a white dot on a tree, it means that this is a valuable and sustainable tree. We need to nurture this tree. There is often a tree with a red line close to one of these trees. The red line means that this is a “competitive tree”, which needs to be cut down in favour of the “future-proofed” tree so that it can get more light. The total number and type of trees to be felled is individually defined in the forest management scheme for each area of woodland. This plan involves a description of the current status of the forest, in-depth planning of interventions and maintenance measures, and monitoring of work carried out.
How are the trees faring today?
Lennart: We are dealing with very different conditions in the three areas, which affect the health and growth of trees. While the areas in Mühltal and in the Bessunger Forest are developing quite well, the Täubcheshöhle area in the district of Weiterstadt is currently a bit of a problem child. The young trees are generally struggling more here as the soil is very sandy with poor water retention capacity. An additional challenge comes in the form of chafer grubs, the larvae of the cockchafer beetle, which live in the soil and eat the roots of the newly planted trees from below. Many of the samplings will not survive – and will need to be replanted. Forestry management has also been suspended in the Täubcheshöhle area, as the foresters are battling with so many challenges. Support through sponsorship is particularly valuable in areas, such as this, as it provides HessenForst with additional funding – so that the areas can be managed more intensively and grow into a healthy, stable forest for the future.
-
District / Area
Bessunger Forest: Sessile oak, English oak, sweet cherry, sweet chestnut. Number of saplings: 5,450; Year of planting 2021
Mühltal (Frankenstein): Douglas fir. Number of saplings: 500; Year of planting 2022
Pfungstadt (Täubcheshöhle): Northern red oak, European hornbeam. Number of saplings: 3,900; Year of planting 2023
Mühltal: Sweet chestnut. Number of saplings: 150; Year of planting 2023
-
Lennart is an employee of HessenForst and is responsible for two areas of work:
Sponsorship: He is the contact for organisations wishing to support the forest, for instance donating saplings or organising planting campaigns.
Forestry education: Lennart spends most of his working life as a forestry educator. In this role, among other things, he organises guided trips with schoolchildren through the Hesse forests with the mantra “Out of the classroom, into nature”.More about the HessenForst forest education programme for schoolchildren: hessen-forst.de/bildung/waldpaedagogik
In the past, Riese & Müller has also frequently taken advantage of the HessenForst programme – for instance in the form of visits to the Fabiennesteig trail with our trainees. At Riese & Müller, sustainability does not end with our product, but rather starts with the responsible actions of each and every individual, even beyond their day-to-day working lives.