A bird's eye view of Beckum

NABU honours Roland park cemetery as butterfly-friendly


By planting a species-rich wildflower meadow and many flowering areas along the edges, as well as dispensing with night-time lighting, a habitat for butterflies has been created in many places at the Roland park cemetery in Beckum in recent years. The measures have given day and night butterflies a refuge in the middle of the intensively used landscape. This was honoured by NABU NRW in 2022 with the "Butterfly-friendly cemetery" award.

The idea was to strengthen species diversity and biodiversity. The park cemetery was designed in such a way that it remains true to the character of a typical park. The "natural character" of nature should be retained with the many hedges and wildflowers. Nature comes first. For example, lawns are only mowed once a year. Some lawns are also left as "untouched" islands that can be used by insects as hiding places. Furthermore, dead wood from hedges is not simply disposed of, but is left until it decomposes by itself over time. Of course, this is met with greater understanding by visitors, even if some areas often look rather untidy.


In the picture from left: Ludwig Kriener, Treasurer of NABU Kreisverband Warendorf e.V., Silke Flüchter, Department of Environment and Greenery of the City of Beckum, Markus Zelt, Municipal Services Beckum and Wilhelm Thumel, Press Officer of NABU Kreisverband Warendorf e.V.