Heey everyone,
I just wanted to check if people would be interested in a trip to the forest, probably in spring, to make a map of the ecological state there. That means identifying as much species as possible (would also need a proper methodology maybe??).
Just wanted to get a general vibe check if and how many people would be intrigued?(:
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Thats a really good starting point of a proposal. Would be great to scope this out: What is needed, how many people we aim for and maybe if we could find someone who is a trained ecologist?
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In reality logistics might be an issue, but I love the idea of spending some time and getting hands on 
Cataloguing, documenting etc.
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I think if we plan for 10-20 people to join, it might be possible to rent mini buses and drive from berlin. Should be also relativly low budget and could be a fun daytrip. I can help with the proposal draft!
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Once you get yourself to Germany itâs relatively simple. Iâm in Australia though. If you know anyone with a boat let me know⊠
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no donât know anyone with a boat , but that a motivation to document the trip / ecological state even better, so it becomes understandable for people who canât visited irl (yet).
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Hi, we are (me and my girlfriend) living at Budapest, and would love to visit the forest. We will be in Berlin on 20-22 February weekend, would that be too early/cold for trip there and maybe do some useful tasks helping the ecological survey there (with pre agreed methodology)?
I would also love to know about the short and long term goals, as well as historical background of the forest. I have read though documentation and found high level goals, like:
**Rejecting traditional industrial forestry practices, Autonomous Forest embraces ecological processes that allow the environment to evolve autonomously in response to change.**
**Acquisition and permanent holding of forest areas by the association.**
- Monitoring of the forest ecosystem.
- Conversion of forest areas into succession areas in accordance with process protection and in the interest of air protection, climate protection and biodiversity.
- Making the forest available to the general public within the framework of laws for recreation and nature experience.â
Does the association have more concrete plans to realize above goals, or is this something to decide and act upon by the community? What does day-to-day management of the forest means? I am asking these in order to get information to avoid proposing something already underway and to align with existing plans.
I as I see, now all in all that is 3 questions : ) (about the trip, the background of the forrest and goals/todos)
Also: we love this initiative! : )
Congrats on this great idea
Best,
Andras & Liza
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Hi Andras and Liza,
Great to have you here! I think the Autonomous Forestâs goal summaries are great.
Letâs start with the historical background of the forests.
1.) Both plots are located in a large forest area near Reesdorf. The first plot, labelled âReesdorfâ on the map, is the larger of the two. Most of the historical information about this property was provided to us by the previous owner. They purchased the property around 30 years ago. As the property is located near the âOttoquelleâ (a raised bog), parts of it also exhibit raised bog characteristics (e.g. standing water). The entire area is located within the MöckernâMagdeburgerforth nature reserve. It is also designated as a biotope, meaning that only minimal forestry is permitted by law. Some years ago, small plots of sundew could be found on the land. The last time the area was thinned was at least 25 years ago. The previous owner told us that he only cut a few trees. The interesting shape of the plot seems to stem from the fact that most property boundaries in this area do not separate pastureland and forest. The previous owner speculated that this led to the forest expanding into the pastureland, resulting in the strange rectangular shape in the north of the forest. This would make sense, as the northern area, which borders pastureland on three sides, consists mostly of birch trees with little undergrowth. One of the somewhat worrying observations that we can also confirm is that the water standing on the ground appears to be decreasing from year to year.
2.) Second Question: From my personal opinion a trip in February could be cool. I always thought it might be strategicly better to go later in the spring or beginning of summer for better observation of species, but i can be easily conviced 
3.) Let me split the third question into two questions: a.) What are the pratical to-dos? b.) And what are the goals of the association?
a.) There are a couple of practical tasks that need to be completed within the next month. These mainly involve meetings. We need to meet the farmer who manages the pastureland around the northern part of the forest. There was a good relationship between the previous owner and him, and we would like to continue this. There are also currently agreements in place regarding how to handle storm damage, etc., which need to be confirmed. Then we need to meet with the local forestry authority, e.g. the local forester. Then we might want to meet with other farmers who are potentially interested in selling their forest to us.
b.) The goals of the asscociation are really lofty described as âprocess protectionâ. How this is practicaly implemented is largely left to âdecide and act upon by the communityâ. So iâm happy for input
If you are intrested in doing a trip there on the 21st i could draft a proposal and we do a winter trip!
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the thorough answer! This is great to have all this info, I feel a bit more connected knowing all that history and practical to-dos.
Yes, maybe you are right, being rather cold in February and a spring trip is more comfortable and nicer. So if a trip like that could be turned into a proposal, I would be grateful!
It would also be interesting to know in what areas people would like to participate in the DAO, or if they want to contribute. I am certainly interested in DAO engagement practices (like https://arxiv.org/html/2507.20234v1, or https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joom.1351 or https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2096720925000843), would be happy to participate/contribute in that area, since I would really like autonomous forest to be a successful model to follow!
Best,
Andras
Hi Andreas,
i prepared a proposal in the with vague timeline in Proposals [AFIP] .Right now, the weather looks like weâre going to have a cold, long winter, so I think it makes sense to plan for May.
What contribution are we looking for at the moment?
I think itâs a good start to think about possible actions such as identifying plants, developing a strategy for mapping the ecology, and finding strategies for dealing with the different parts of the forest and its changes. On the other hand, all money raised through the NFT sale has been transferred to the associationâs assets. This capital can be used to buy more forest and/or carry out actions in the forest itself. We hope to clarify in the coming months how much of this capital is available to the association in terms of tax law.
Thanks for linking the papers aswell. I know some of the casestudies the âhouse which owns itselfâ is directly terra0 inspired
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Thanks for your answer, I have just seen this now. I am answering there in the proposal section.
Best,
Andras
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