Book launch: UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Bliesgau - Inspired by the creative power of nature and its symbols

Inspiring book teaches cultural education for sustainable development through the language of nature

In 2009, UNESCO recognized the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve as the 15th model region in Germany and linked it to a mission: On the basis of the special resources of this cultural landscape, research and experiments are to be conducted on how people here can live and farm better in harmony with nature. The knowledge gained can be used to develop more sustainable ways of living and doing business and to disseminate them in an exemplary manner. But how can such a vision be credibly realized in a consumption- and efficiency-oriented society? How can people understand with all their senses what the recognition as a UNESCO biosphere reserve means and what opportunities unfold from it to initiate an increasing harmonization of man with nature and the biosphere earth?

Against the background that symbolic signs also play a role in all civilizations as a fundamental expression of life, growth and spiritual maturation, the cultural officer of the Regional Association Saarbrücken, Peter Michael Lupp, and the graphic artist Elke Birkelbach developed the idea of conveying the development potential of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Bliesgau via the very own language of nature and to represent it in a symbolic image. For the "fleeting glance" along the highway sections flanking the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve, this special image has served for some time as a recognition sign of the Bliesgau UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. As an exemplary initiative for cultural education for sustainable development, the duo has now completed a subtle publication in book form that creatively decodes and conveys this SinnBild in a way that is close to the people.

The title is: UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Bliesgau - inspired by the creative power of nature and its symbols. The content poetically illustrates the connections between man and nature. The "golden section" as a harmonious universal relationship in nature comes into play. It reflects the cognitive process of man with regard to his responsibility for the environment, its sustainable development and ultimately as a guide for a good life. The initiative for this came about in the Saarbrücken Regional Association as part of the strategic cultural work of regional development.

Nature speaks many languages. If we gain knowledge about it and look more closely, it opens our eyes to new visions of designing living spaces in harmony with it. The revelations of nature's laws provide us with the building blocks, so to speak, for a harmonious coexistence between nature and human culture. Our focus on facts, statistics and figures sometimes narrows our view. What is needed is a new form of storytelling and debate. Whoever wants to understand the deeper meaning of biosphere reserves must develop empathy for our habitat earth, and this awakens when people can translate and empathize with the language of nature. This is how the idea was born to derive a future vision of this earth from the Bliesgau biosphere reserve using the language of nature and its symbols, and to communicate it in such a way that as many people as possible can recognize and experience it.

Author Peter Michael Lupp and designer Elke Birkelbach

This publication and the accompanying educational campaign see themselves as an experiment in the dissemination of meaningful as well as ecologically, economically and ethically sustainable ways of life in the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve within the framework of cultural education for sustainable development. We want to create a new level of understanding, to discover nature in its holistic diversity anew, to perceive it consciously, to realize that we are a part of it and that we can improve our actions for the future through this knowledge. This is one focus of the UNESCO research mission for the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve.

Association Chairman District Administrator Dr. Theophil Gallo and Regional Association Director Peter Gillo

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