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On September 11th, the annual International RhineCleanUp took place. The NABU-Naturschutzstation Niederrhein took care oft the meeting point Emmericher Ward. About twenty people we were able to collect a lot of garbage and even pick up a mattress. At the and, we almost filled up a whole container. This too supports the observation, that in each year less and less garbage is found. We would like to thank all those involved, the City of Emmerich and the organizers of the RhineCleanUp (www.rhinecleanup.org).

Even the cows are wondering about the garbage (Photo: Dr. Thomas Chrobock)... 

...and away with it (Photo: Charlotta Köferstein)!

 Many thanks to all (Photo: Charlotta Köferstein)!

 

The last weeks´ devasting rainfalls led to a swell of the Rhine and the flood now reached the Emmericher Ward. The water gauge at Emmerich rose up to 744 cm and the Emmericher Ward was flooded almost completely.

Summer flood in the Emmericher Ward (Photos: Ortrun Heine).

 

For the approval procedure of the project´s construction works comprehensive and detailed documents are necessary. These include soil and building ground analyses, constructional drawings, several experts reports and much more, approximately 1000 pages. Now, we completed and submitted them to the approval authority. Done!

Sorting the documents.

Origami for the advanced: Folding of squaremeter-sized construction plans.

Ready to submit at the approval authority (Photos: Klara Rosemann and Thomas Chrobock).

 

One of the project´s objectives it to offer nesting grounds to the - in Northrhine Westphalia - almost extinct black terns (Chlidonias niger). This species breds on small islands, so artificial rafts are a possibility. To improve the natural look of the rafts, some plants were placed on them. Subsequently, we brought them out by boat on a former gravel pit in the Emmericher Ward. Unfortunately, it may take several years until a new nesting place is accepted by black terns. Hopefully, they will come this year.

Water-mint (Mentha aquatica) grows well on the rafts.

Strong wind made it difficult to position the boat in the right place.

Almost finished: the rafts await the black terns (Photos: Klara Rosemann, Ronja Rosenberg and Pia Kraemer).

After last autumn´s sowing of rare plant species, the spring sowing took place now. Again, we prepared small areas and sowed a mixture of seeds of meadow sage (Salvia pratensis), lesser meadow-rue (Thalictrum minus), crested hair-grass (Koeleria macrantha) and small scabious (Scabiosa columbaria). At the „old“ seedbeds, we discovered several juvenile plants of meadow sage. We were very happy about that and, hopefully, the new seeds will germinate and blossom as well.

Preparation of a seedbed.

The seeds were sown carefully.

Big sisters were watching us (Photos: Thomas Chrobock).

 

After the floodlevel in the Emmericher Ward had run down, a fish monitoring was carried out in the floodplain waters. Since there is no data on the use of flooded floodplains of the Lower Rhine by fish, the experts from the specialist company were also very excited. However - at least in this monitoring cycle - only a few fish could be caught. However, large parts of the Emmericher Ward could not yet be reached. In addition to native species such as river perch (Perca fluviatilis), common daze (Leuciscus leuciscus) and ide (Leuciscus idus), stone moroko or topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) could also be detected. This species originally comes from Asia and has also been found in German waters since the mid-1980s.

Not that simple: fish monitoring in a partly flooded forest...

...or on the flooded meadows.

A stone moroko (or topmouth gudgeon), originally an asian fish species, to be found in the Rhine for several years (Photos: Thomas Chrobock).