The new urban forest garden on Helleböhnweg opened in Kassel in May 2024. It was designed by the Landschaft + Freiraum planning consortium – together with interested citizens, who were able to get involved in planning workshops and participatory construction sites at an early stage. In their project presentation, Robert Bischer and Ulli Werner from Planungsgemeinschaft Landschaft + Freiraum explain what exactly an urban forest garden is, how they structured the area in Kassel and who is now gardening in Kassel.

The new urban forest garden on Helleböhnweg opened in Kassel in May 2024. It was designed by the Landschaft + Freiraum planning consortium – together with interested citizens, who were able to get involved in planning workshops and participatory construction sites at an early stage. In their project presentation, Robert Bischer and Ulli Werner from Planungsgemeinschaft Landschaft + Freiraum explain what exactly an urban forest garden is, how they structured the area in Kassel and who is now gardening in Kassel.

With the Urban Forest Garden on Helleböhnweg, a public, multifunctional and communal urban oasis has been created in Kassel. Based on the principle of a forest garden, it contains mainly edible plants that can be experienced and used in all layers of vegetation. At public planning workshops and hands-on construction sites, interested parties were able to get involved in the design of the Urban Forest Garden at an early stage. And this new urban oasis will continue to be maintained, designed and developed by committed citizens in the future.

As in the forest, several layers grow on top of each other in the forest garden: fruit and nut trees above berry bushes, berry bushes above vegetables and herbs. Climbing plants twine between them. The perennial plants are intended to produce yields over a long period of time – without intensive horticultural intervention. A woodland garden contains typical woodland plants such as wild garlic or raspberries, as well as various wild fruit species and plants whose use as food is less well known. For example, the daylily, the paupau or the Japanese raisin tree.

A forest garden in the city can fulfill important ecological and social functions. It can help to increase biodiversity and improve the urban climate. Community gardening can create a social meeting place that is also a place for environmental education. In all of this, it is also a place where food is produced within the city.

The urban forest garden on Helleböhnweg is centrally located between the Kassel districts of Süsterfeld-Helleböhn, Wehlheiden and Bad Wilhelmshöhe. Where there used to be meadows, there are now densely overgrown wooded areas, open glade gardens and multifunctional areas. This variety creates diverse fringe areas and a sequence of different spaces. A central path quickly connects the most important functional areas. From the willow pavilion to the yoga meadow or from the communal bed to the tool container. Stepping stones and harvest paths allow you to explore the densely overgrown areas and experience the diverse structure. Where can you still find strawberries? What has moved between the perennials? And what kind of tree is that?

The tour begins in the communal clearing. Located at the western entrance, it opens up to the outside and, with its sunny garden roundel and shady willow pavilion, invites visitors to make contact with the forest gardeners. With a tool container, drinking water connection and compost toilet, the clearing functions as a social center.

Following the main path, you pass fruit trees and intensively used communal beds. Behind them, the existing woodland strip merges with new plantings to form a lively succession zone. Along the way, seating made of native oak invites you to sit down and let your first impressions sink in.

Deep in the back of the garden is the knowledge meadow, framed by berry bushes and Benjes hedges. It is a place for environmental education and is used by schools and day-care centers, among others. Next to the small amphitheater made of Weser sandstone are the kindergarten beds, where various kindergarten groups can grow their own crops and even the youngest children can garden.

At the end of the main path, just before the south-eastern connection to Helleböhnweg, you reach the lowest point of the garden. This is where the sunken retention bed is located, which absorbs surface water run-off during heavy rainfall. From here, the stepping stone path invites you to return to the communal clearing. The various natural stone slabs for the path come from the municipal environment and garden department’s stock. They were collected by the city gardeners as part of various construction and demolition measures throughout Kassel and now have a new function on Helleböhnweg.

Passing berry bushes, you reach the yoga meadow. In the shade of the robinia wood scaffolding entwined with kiwi and vines, seating blocks made of Jura limestone invite you to linger. The subtle modeling of the terrain is particularly striking here, between the forest garden zones and the clearing gardens. An alternation of subtle heights and depressions also structures the individual areas topographically. All of the excavated soil was left in the carefully modeled hills in this way.

The stepping stone path then leads to the insect meadow, a nutrient-poor meadow with a focus on ecological functions. A sandarium provides shelter for ground-dwelling insects. Others find shelter and food in the deadwood, which consists of various softwoods and hardwoods that have accumulated during municipal maintenance work. A pile of stones in the meadow provides shelter for other small animals.

On the way through the last forest garden zone, the path crosses the small berry clearing with raspberries, currants and gooseberries of different varieties. Finally, the stepping stone path leads back to the community clearing. It ends at the willow pavilion, which invites you to sit down and talk about your impressions of the Urban Forest Garden.

The project is part of the research project “Urban Forest Gardens: Perennial, Multi-layered and Multifunctional” at the University of Potsdam and is funded by the Federal Program for Biological Diversity. Planungsgemeinschaft Landschaft + Freiraum (Kassel) was commissioned by the Environment and Garden Department of the City of Kassel to plan the urban forest garden on Helleböhnweg. The participation process was carried out in cooperation with the plan zwei office (Hanover).

At five public planning workshops, interested parties were able to get involved in the planning of the Urban Forest Garden. Different design approaches were discussed in three design variants, enriched by suggestions from the public and ultimately put to the vote.

Even during the planning phase, it was possible to garden together on the future forest garden area and the various groups and people networked with each other. During the construction phase, several hands-on construction sites took place. The willow pavilion was erected and around 2,500 perennials were planted under the guidance of the planning office and the contractor. The future forest gardeners also included several kindergarten groups and school classes from the surrounding districts.

Since the Urban Forest Garden opened in May 2024, an open group has been meeting for weekly after-work gardening sessions and local kindergartens have been tending to their beds. The team from the city’s environmental and gardening department is on hand to provide help and advice. There are also comprehensive environmental education programs, from scythe courses to bird excursions.

The development of the Urban Forest Garden on Helleböhnweg will remain exciting in the future – both on an ecological and social level. The coming years and decades will show what role this living experiment will play in urban nature and culture. Thanks to its participatory and citizen-oriented planning and implementation process, the forest garden on Helleböhnweg is an example of new, democratic open space planning.

Location: Kassel
Landscape architects: Planning consortium landscape + open space
Client: City of Kassel
Completion: 2024
Area: approx. 6,100 square meters
Construction costs: approx. 350,000 euros

Read more: In G+L 09/24 we present 54 urban oases from five countries. The magazine is available in the store. More green oases can be discovered here.