Urban Agroecology in the City of ZürichFieldtrip ETH Zürich

In our fourth week of the semester, the MAS students carried out group and individual field trips. We were delighted to have visited a number of pioneers in the field of agroecology both in the city of Zürich and neighbouring Rapperswil and St. Gallen. On the first day, we moved from the border of the Zürichberg forest to the Waldlabor laboratory on Hönggerberg where we were given a tour by Andreas Rudow. We ended the day with a tour of the Heubhof Solidarische Landwirtschaft based in Schwamendingen where we encountered regenerative practices on the north of the Zürichberg. The following day we were joined by Prof. Christoph Küffer who gave the students a tour of the Miyawaki forest in Rapperswil, we continued onto St. Gallen where we discussed with Grünes Gallustal, a project about regreening the city of St. Gallen. The final day was spent on a visit to Juchhof vineyard on the slopes of Hönggerberg, a vineyard run by Grün Stadt Zürich a department of the city of Zürich. The students were able to learn about the role that the city has played in promoting public interactions with agriculture. The students joined Gottardo Pestalozzi from the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL who explained their role in protecting and researching the Swiss landscape. The trip concluded with a walk through the Uetliberg forest on the North West slopes where Grün Stadt Zürich’s forestry department showcased its current management and practices.