The allotment garden Am Stadtpark I, situated in the northern side of the Volkspark Wilmersdorf, has been grounded one hundred years ago, in 1919 (Gutzmann, 2019), and it is one of the oldest Kleingartenkolonie in Berlin.
The total area of 2.7 ha currently counts 121 plots and it is divided in four main blocks. Thanks to its proximity to the park Volkspark Wilmersdorf, the colony preserves an high biodiversity of insects and wild animals.
The allotment garden area extension has been modified through time. During the 1970s, the Land of Berlin bought up most of the colony’s land and a School has been built on the site. In 2013, the garden’s area was highlighted in the Berlin StEPWohnen strategy as an area for the development of 250 residential units. Since then, the colony is constantly threatened to be partly built. In the Kleingartenentwicklungsplan Berlin 2030 (Allotment gardens plan development Berlin 2030) 108 allotment plots are marked as possible sites for an educational facilities building development.
The garden’s inner paths are opened to the public and furnished with benches. They offer alternative “quiet and natural connections” through different parts of the neighborhood. The Vereinshaus, grounded in 1984, hosts open events and exhibitions. A plot close to it is dedicated to the Mitmatchgarten, a garden shared by different people dedicated to common and educational activities.
The Am Stadtpark I’s president Dr. Gabriele Gutzmann is constantly working to both preserve the Allotment garden’s qualities and to promote the opening of the garden to the public. For our research project “Integration of Allotment and Community gardens in Berlin and Warsaw” we see it as a first step and effort towards the integration.
References:
Gutzmann, G. (2019). Zur Geschichte der Kleingartenkolonie Am Stadtpark I. [online] Available at: https://www.kolonie-am-stadtpark.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Gutzmann_Zur-Geschichte-der-Kleingartenkolonie-Am-Stadtpark-I_8_2019.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2020].
Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz, L.B. (2019). Kleingartenentwicklungsplan Berlin 2030. [online] www.berlin.de. Available at: https://www.berlin.de/senuvk/umwelt/stadtgruen/kleingaerten/de/kleingartenentwicklungsplan/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2020].
Bibliography:
Gutzmann, G. (2015). Zukunft der Berliner Kleingärten mit Schutzfrist 2020. [online] Available at: https://www.kolonie-am-stadtpark.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Zukunft_Berliner_Kleing%C3%A4rten_-Schutzfrist-2020_LV_2015.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2020].
Spiess, V. and Rollka, B. (1987). Berliner Laubenpieper : Kleingärten in d. Grossstadt. Berlin: Haude U. Spener.
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