In his master's thesis, Nils Teufel studied the behavior of a rook colony in the Swabian district of Donau-Ries. The thesis, entitled “Structural and spatial use behavior of the rook colony in Asbach-Bäumenheim”, was part of a research project by the State Office for the Environment, which is concerned with the management of rooks.
Management of the rook in Bavaria
The background to this is that the number of breeding pairs in Bavaria has been increasing since the start of the survey in 2008 and currently stands at over 17,000. The rook is a native and protected species, but people in the city and in agriculture sometimes feel disturbed by the large swarms.
Nils Teufel collected data from the rook colony in 2022 and 2023 and analyzed it in his master's thesis. The bdla writes about the significance of the results in the award citation: “An important result of the work is that localized anthropogenic food sources (e.g. biogas plants) and certain agricultural areas (e.g. grassland) are important points of attraction. Their location and characteristics could be used to influence spatial foraging behaviour and thus minimize possible damage to arable land without direct control measures (e.g. shooting), as is currently being discussed in Bavaria.”
The master's thesis was supervised by Dr. Wolfgang Zehlius-Eckert from the Chair of Strategy and Management of Landscape Development.
Redesign of the banks of the Main in Frankfurt-Griesheim
The bachelor thesis “floodline - spaces for people and river. Future-oriented transformation of the former industrial banks of the Main” by Piet Gerlitz was also awarded the bdla Young Talent Award. Gerlitz dealt with the redesign of the northern bank of the Main, which is canalized and difficult to access. There, in Frankfurt's Griesheim district, a recreational area is to be created on the river, adjacent to the industrial estate. The challenge is how to combine flood protection and an ecologically valuable river landscape with quality recreational opportunities and activities. Industrial relics also need to be included.
In its prize justification, the bdla states: “Piet Gerlitz shows a successful synthesis of sustainable flood protection, forward-looking urban development and attractive open space design in his very well-written bachelor thesis ‘floodline - spaces for people and rivers’ in Frankfurt am Main. (...)
The qualification of ecologically valuable areas and the creation of new retention areas along the Main can make a decisive contribution to flood resilience. At the same time, the formerly industrial district of Griesheim will be enriched by attractive local recreation areas with a variety of recreational opportunities.”
The bachelor's thesis at the Chair of Landscape Architecture and Transformation was supervised by Prof. Dr. Udo Weilacher. In 2024, eight students worked on the given task “Westside in transition” - to redesign the northern bank of the Main and integrate it into the current urban planning.
About the bdla Young Talent Award: Every year, the bdla Bavaria honors outstanding final theses in landscape architecture in Bavaria. According to the bdla, the award recognizes theses that describe new fields of activity for landscape architects, show trend-setting design solutions or scientific methods or have a particular practical application. The prize is valued at € 250 and includes a certificate.