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The Southern Black Forest, Lake Constance, The Rhine and Three-Country Corner

From the Black Forest mountains overlooking the Rhine Valley towards France

Southern Black Forest, Switzerland and Eastern France (Alsace)

In the higher lakes and rivers of the Southern Black Forest there are also environmentally sensitive areas where conservation projects are trying to protect threatened species, some of which are on the "Red List".
Atelier Laibach in Germany is situated close to two other countries, therefore Switzerland and the Alsace region of France are covered by our gathering principles.
The Tri-National Environmental Centre (Trinationale Umweltzentrum or TRUZ), founded in 1998, is based in Weil am Rhein near Basel and is a key organisation uniting local ecological concerns from within the three bordering countries. The organisation's project, called Regiobogen helps to create wetlands, monitor wildlife and re-nature these cross-border environments around the Rhine Valley which are increasingly overwhelmed by industry and population growth. Surrounding the headquaters of TRUZ on the Swiss / German border it is possible to see their conservation work in action. They are re-naturing a large area of land which was formerly a huge extraction area of stones from the Rhine and Wiese rivers. Stones were extracted to a depth of around 30 metres leaving a baron industrial "desert".The picture below shows one of TRUZ's recently created ponds in front one of the remaining hills of shingle, giving a graphic example of how high the original elevation of the entire area was.

A recently created pond at the Truz headquaters nature reserve

The sale of pieces made by Kerstin Laibach based on stones gathered in this region, plus wedding and partnership rings made for local couples, directly benefits this important re-naturing work of Truz. Re-naturing plays a vital role in combating the damage caused to the Earth by the extraction industry (most notably the unnecessary mining of gold).
External Link to TRUZ (in German and French only)

Overlooking a re-nature area of the TRUZ reserve with beehives

Lake Constance
Lake Constance is also regionally known as Bodensee and lies just north of the Alps. This border lake covers over 500 square kilometres, with Germany owning 173km of shore-line, Switzerland 72 km and Austria 28 km. The Principality of Liechtenstein also has a share of the lake's resources.
Lake Constance is mainly made up by the water of the Rhine river which enters the lake between Hard and Bregenz and exits at Stein am Rhein. After Lake Geneva, Constance is the second largest pre-Alpine lake, but more significantly it is one of the most important habitats for plants and wildlife in Europe (up to 412 species of birds due to its location as Europe's main migratory route).

Lake Constance (Bodensee)

BACKGROUND
In recent years the ecology of Lake Constance has suffered serious damage, due to largely un-regulated spread of structural development and tourism; mostly attributed to its ever-growing popularity as one of the most attractive places to live. In comparison to the size of the lake and its surroundings, the conservation areas of Bodensee are tiny, with environmental and wildlife protection in and around the lake low on the list of priorities with local authorities.
From the 19th century, nature around Bodensee has been under attack from development, which also meant the clearing of huge areas of woodland. Over the years, pollution has caused serious damage to the lakes ecology and what is left of the natural lakeland today are just a few protected areas. The biggest of these is the Rhinedelta (mainly in Austria and Switzerland). There is also the Eriskircher Ried and the Wollmatinger Ried, which are only open to the public when accompanied by official guides at certain times of the year. The Wollmatinger Reid is the oldest and most important breeding area on the German side of the lake. The Eriskircher Ried is the largest protected area on the north shore. These remaining marshlands and reed banks play host to threatened wildlife and plants ...once abundant throughout the entire region. The protected parts of the lake shores are home to very rare plants such as Sibirische Schwertlilie, along with a variety of orchids. The Rhinedelta part of Lake Constance has around 20 square kilometres of surrounding wetlands and is the most important stopping point on the lake for migratory and transitory birds.

Overlooking Lake Constance (Bodensee)

TODAY'S THREAT
Although the 19th century had such a devastating environmental impact on the lake, it wasn't until 1959 that an international water safety commission (IGKB) was established to help avoid further polluting. However, even up until the 1970's the river Rhine had been notorious for being one of the most polluted rivers in Europe. Today, the water in Lake Constance may be cleaner than in the recent past but the threats to its surviving ecology are perhaps even more serious than ever. Besides the encroachment of housing developments, the local fishing industry is at war with Bodensee bird life. The lake is uniquely home to the Bodensee Felchen fish - a local speciality. But in an attempt to pass the blame to nature, there are claims that birds are eating through the lake's fish stock. Cormorants have now seriously suffered due to a heavy culling at the request of fishermen. Like in many seas and lakes around the world, fishing industries say that either birds or our sea mammals are responsible for depleted fish numbers. However, the truth is that excessive harvesting by humans has caused the problem.

The concerns of wildlife protection groups are too often ignored by local developers, tourism and the fishing industry which continues to disrupt the fragile ecology of Lake Constance. Environmentalists say that there should also be much more focus on protecting the few remaining green areas being swallowed up by development. Habitats, between sprawling housing developments, should be preserved to enable wildlife to at least have a chance to coexist with human inhabitants. On a positive note, support from the EU and Switzerland means that Bodensee storks are continuing to survive amongst growing housing developments. Some meadowlands are maintained to assist their breeding and survival, and their huge nests can be seen on tops of high tree stumps in some back gardens. Over twenty nests are currently in place and the numbers are growing. The sale of pieces made by Kerstin Laibach based on stones gathered in this region, plus wedding and partnership rings made for local couples, directly benefits re-naturing and protection work overseen by Bodensee Stiftung (International Foundation for Nature and Culture).
External Link to Bodensee Stiftung

How Laibach Helps
When you buy a Laibach piece, fifteen percent of the profit is awarded to the few conservation / wildlife protection organisation in areas of Lake Constance, the Southern Black Forest and the Rhine region, often near where the main stone(s) in your piece were gathered. If a piece does not include stones, fifteen percent of profits is placed into a general fund and distributed evenly to qualifying conservation and wildlife projects relative to Laibach creations. Laibach also aims to support the few independent protection organisations in other areas of Southern Germany, Switzerland and Eastern France through a percentage of profits from pieces which include stones gathered from nearby. Please see more about Kerstin Laibach's wildlife and environmental commitments here.

Please revisit these pages for updates on Laibach collections which contribute to causes in these areas.

Back to The Lake Constance Collection Main Page
Laibach's commitment to wildlife and the environment
Information on the Laibach gathering area of South and West England
Information on Laibach donations to Gorongosa National Park, Africa

Lake Constance (Bodensee) from Mettnau