Here on to tell me youre going to talk on facebook. Of one of them pointed his gun at me and looked like he was getting ready to shoot at me. What my grades read the ranger in the one nine hundred eighty s. Always filled me with such a sense of longing. I thought he was we hope hell help us restore this biotope. A path that could tell many stories. Winding its way from north to south across germany one is the dividing line between east and west patrolled by armed guards with shoot to kill orders the Western State of has in its border with the communist east stretched for two hundred seventy kilometers the strip was kept to revegetate with pesticides death stripped to the heart of germany today a small red truck was making stained irans hear about hockey is on the way to his animals. This was the border right here i remember the fence and automatic firing devices the area was riddled with landmines too often. His charges are expecting him up on the hill this is the vera valley in the of its in the house and what has in ones boarded east germany picturesque conch tynecastle is nearby. A small herd of red highland cattle has grazed the land here of the some years now. How good hog regularly has to bring water to the animals on these meagre pastas. Now. That. Thats a result discount shes sixteen already and. A regular dairy cow only lived to age five before she spent forty life our cows can reach a ripe old age an age that would be typical for a non domesticated cow you know its kind of cool. To persevere that. You could send. The cows tend the land they keep the border strip free from vegetation here. If they werent here this would all become overgrown this area was covered in mines plows went over this land to bring up those mines a few mines werent found but we hope none have been left in this area. I know means and our cows havent found any yet. How good he receives money from conservation funds because hes heard grazes this land keeping livestock here wouldnt be financially feasible i mean so this approach gives many species a chance thats quite this milk were to still flowering here. For decades the land in the death strip wasnt fertilized plants that grow online deficient meadows have ideal conditions here like orchids and many herbes that have become hard to find as well as flowers like the fringed gentian species the dont need much to thrive how god can find them even now in the growing season. The beautifully brain is done flowering here there isnt much that still flowering now in autumn you know we have some yarrow here thats a species not found any more on land farms purely for profit. There are many bird species that like these lima deficient meadows. We have three to four pairs of redback trikes here we have yellow hammers in flesh and long. Or doesnt the species have long disappeared from conventionally farmed land because they cant find food anymore. And fight for it and for the species need this habitat. Thats why he lets his animals graze here to keep almost one and a half kilometers of the former death straight clear because by bushes and brush that tried to take root in the area sheep and goats perform this job elsewhere. Germanys goal is to replace the entire length of the former iron curtain with a green belt thats to serve as an ecological treasure trove from. The vendor valley any about on and off. The areas also known as has switzerland the former border with these germany also ran along these Higher Elevations the museum illustrates how the border was protected. From one thousand nine hundred fifty two hed sealed off the communist east from the democratic west with a fence and a mind of death grip kept barren with pesticides for better visibility on the eastern side a large area along the border remained largely untouched and unused for almost forty years a five hundred metre wide strip of the barrier as well as an additional five kilometer exclusion zone all heavily guarded put decades to death strip was a haven for plants and animals. It gave and danger species such as when chance a chance to survive as a ground nesting bird it needs open spaces with perches such as storks from where it can look for food. Wrap plant species were able to survive on the unused land as well examples include orchids such as lady all kids and ladies slippers. The strip extends for one thousand seven hundred kilometers from the bull take to build various borders with the czech republic. Even species believed to be almost extinct such as wild cats to found a habitat here. One man in the narrow valley worked hard for Nature Conservation in the border area long before the iron curtain came down trained pastry chef vollard from brown eyes who lives in nearby ash vega its only a few kilometers from his home to the goober to the hill range between north hassen and the ice followed in. The soils here on shore thats evident in the white cliffs and rock formations in the very violent. World from bone ice recognized its value as a natural habitat years ago. When i come up here hundreds of times a year to check on the spots a pair of peregrines is nesting here. These are the descendants of the birds we spent fifteen years reintroducing into the wild from one thousand nine hundred seventy eight. These farm bred birds only needed to breed once in the wild to produce a new stock of wild peregrines. Or. Peregrine falcons find ideal nesting conditions in these lives. When vor from bone has started introducing these birds into the wild it looked like it was the last chance to save this fulton species from extinction. To trial without a guarantee of success in the shadow of the patrol road and death strip and under the constant observation of east german Border Guards. An old border a mako dating back to prussian times. For four blind eyes once to show is the spot where a perry green plant raised its young this year. These steep slopes on ten times safe but the eighty year old was here regularly throughout the year. Peregrine falcons seem to have been safe for a seventy breeding pairs in has no low. Madman. And we had further south along the greenbelt took out in bushland. Here right next to the form a death strip lies how eyes and hoops nursery. He cultivates roses on an area of one hacked up. God know how guys and who has only bred roses for a few years now. For the evenings no more the roses have always been my favorite flower it started as a hobby with just a few rows of roses but i was never able to see them flower because my wifes a florist and she was always faster than me with my period when she needed a rose for her flower shop the roses were gone before i could get up in the morning that made me very cross so i started planting several rows so the my wife couldnt keep up any more on that night in they are. On the eastern banks of the vera these goes into your engine on the Western Banks out and bush lie in hessen the two towns are separated only by the river. But up until nine hundred eighty nine we were only able to see it never visit it its still a special thing for me to cross this former border. That i dont think im in still rangy and now i think im in a place that was once closed off to me i always wanted to see it with an a for me. Goose bush was in east germany it was impossible to just cross the river to death strip ran between the two towns. In the past this was all barren to ensure visibility now everythings been left to nature the vegetation has developed naturally nature has reclaimed what man took from it. How guys in whose family he came from goes bush live in fear in jail they had a large home and a nursery that. This is a photo of my grandparents my aunts and my father. They left east germany together in one nine hundred fifty two. They owned land here in altoona bushland so they were allowed to cross into the west to cultivate their fields and then they decided to defect and illegally cross the border it was illegal because they were supposed to return in the evening but didnt they were put up by relatives with whom they lived for a year until they started building a house on the land they own they stuck the spade into the ground and dug for water they built a well then a house and then a nursery of. That the greenbelt has become the opposite of what it used to be it was a dividing line today its a connection that you can experience very directly where the border around its become a biotope for plants and animals its to be enjoyed not to divide us and and the roses. The roses become a symbol of unity to me. The very river was long the symbol of division today its the life blood of the greenbelt for many kilometers. Ever since reunification the state a few ringette and friends of the of germany have tried to buy adjoining plots of land to prevent agricultural use long before german reunification a large nature reserve was created. On hessen site right at the in a german border. Kuhlmann so drying their feathers after hunting for fish. Morning scenes in the laden nature reserve. In the. Volatile grave is often out and about here in the Early Morning counting birds and checking for overnight newcomers hes waiting for the cranes to arrive the eighty year old has been observing and documented the species diversity here for decades my grade three birds regularly stop here in spring and autumn the east german Border Guards unwittingly played their part in allowing a nature reserve to be created right next to the death strip. Lantana ho ho they farm their land very intensively over there in farming collectives after nine hundred sixty five or seventy this whole area of hessen was wasteland the town of over sewell planted forty thousand poplar trees on its sectional. And our midfield three thousand public that was after a devastating wildfire it before hand it was covered in tansey and grassland and was very dry. High and found on cause land when border troops burned off the vegetation in a strip to clear it the fire spread over here a pond or does it as kind of the media here we only sprung into action slowly when we saw the extent of it problem with the unarmed for no guns in our stores and we built dams and slowly developed the line on how does a long time here that. He created the first reservoirs here with his Conservation Group nothing could be done on the eastern side until the border collapsed it got them through. And you see the ranging road over there the border between hasn and thirty around here where that big bush is on the kind. Of the border runs through this area here. Thats the last Drainage Ditch there and. The cause or so on yet there are so now were in thirty. Everything on this side is green on this point of here thats going to side. We get a lot of visitors now its on three in a. Long. Long. A drama is unfolding fifty meters away from. The good catch for the great heron attention that must weigh five pounds. But still no cranes instead there are more than a thousand gray like geese on the water that they dont is a haven for birds and amphibians stalks sometimes even stay here into the autumn months instead of migrating to africa. And the coleman colony on its artificial nesting aids is one of the biggest in has everythings peaceful today while to get a fix perience to precarious situations with these german Border Guards when he worked in the raid a nature reserve can supply reunion when he meant they were constantly on patrol here reporting on any movement in the area they took pictures printed once i was down here a couple of guards yelled out as we were maybe fifty meters apart one of them pointed his gun at me and looked like he was getting ready to shoot at me and i turned around and tapped myself on the backside. But Nothing Happened no Nothing Happened. Herons the Border Guards also discovered a passion for conservation. Commando and on this captain came to us once and said that he wanted to contribute to the conservation efforts and did we need anything i told him we needed maybe fifty of their fencing sheets they brought us those on the back of a lorry we still have some here and. We kept the border fence for a rainy day or maybe we need a fence again in the future past the captain said hed known me for years i said but weve never seen each other before and he said yes we have. Weve got your picture up in the guard house so i told him you took enough pictures of me even though im not that photogenic i mean youre going to go for the game get it off. Divided to german conservation efforts are a thing of the past cormorants now use the metal border fence pieces for breeding purposes. But what about the tension. The heroine wins. Surveyed and. Is a key part of the green that. Almost half of germanys five hundred odd bird species can be found here. Well to give a fuck is happy hell be checking back tomorrow the cravings will come soon enough. Or. On the other side of the data to the south of the spoil heap dubbed. Healing in something is happening on the form a patrol road. And encounter of the official count. While some out as have already settled into their Winter Quarters their future is the subject of discussion above ground a meeting in the greenbelt. Bach and rangy and if youre in jail and by his high and his colleague from has having an on site mean to. Me i dont want him to. Spite of the areas of jurisdiction into sect here on an old patrol road. Addas like hed room then i guess some of them had them but since germanys reunification the border strip has become an overgrown wilderness and coaching on the snakes habitat. Its an award the european adder is on the end day. List there are very few populations left in germany as a whole and in has thats why we want to cooperate with you. And your mother going to look. We have an aerial image here that shows how we could do it. You can see from the shapes here that the former border strip offered ideal conditions over a long stretch. The environment had a lot of bushs which the afterlife and small stone here. Maybe we could recreate this bio top again together but using your mind obviously have to go yes so i think thats in a common interest in a. Currently looks very sunny but when the foliage is on the trees then theres a lot of shade. Maybe we should remove a few birch trees to recreate the old environment look like to look at the name. And. The missing out of the mist markland wed have to do that wed have to clear land like this to thin out the vegetation we have to try to keep it clear so that the sun can get through for the other courts. And wed have to agree on the area we want to do that on to. Get us funny and. Exactly. The two rangers quickly agreed they need fewer trees and bushes and more sunny spots. The bites of this venomous snake are only dangerous to old people and children theres no need to be scared but its wise to be cautious. The locals say a teenager who was bitten a few years ago here in hasnt got very sick. When doing a side over on our side in through injury information like that was kept under wraps and this area was controlled by Border Guards and only a select few had access to the area because of the in those days when unemployment was high we had what groups come in to do simple jobs to clear paths and do things like that. And the ranger took me aside and said do tell the women that those areas out to blue so they dont sit down for a picnic in the heather because theres a risk that something could slither into their lunch box august honesty. The portraits of which. There are many locations in the state where adams can still be found. The most numerous in eastern has in the greenbelt of the former in a german border that is now a shangrila for endangered species. And. It also helps keep this greenbelt off limits for anything but nature they call him buffalo pizza hearing golson say the community right next to the partridge factory inhaling and Peter Schmidt grazes a herd of water buffalo on large meadows the even listen to him theyve all got names but they look out of place here at the border between hasnt and furin you. Been to visit im a nature lover when i saw this land i said if you can have cattle here then water buffalo are the only option. You cant have cattle here because theyll get sick out on the last line in the buffalo digest their food quite differently now when the bill for the last im going to. They keep this grassy valeted close to the former board a clear mind this is my first born bone in two thousand and three polly. Polling hewing are you attached to her yes shes been with me for more than thirteen years i think. Peter schmidt also gets money for this conservation work because these wet meadows are valuable habitats in the greenbelt. Everything was becoming overgrown it was no place for frogs or anything like that. The water buffalo keep everything nice and short. You can see how short the grass is. That means more and symbionese can get out into the sun. You know. This is one such. A want of from the doze a time a town to these gentle almost surely water buffaloes toms marshy meadows nutrient poor grassland and sunny he flies the greenbelt has more than one hundred different types of bio tops. Of the flows just a few kilometers from pay to schmitz water buffaloes. Were going back to the raid on the cross border nature is a. Ninth grade pupils from a high school in bonds out so none of visiting the former border today on a class trip hosted by friends of the germany. A biologist explains how the heavily fortified border was set up. Then the ninth graders discover how the environment has changed here in the nature is. I saw a nest in the woods sticking out of the water over there this girl says it looks like a small boat and the little birds were just coming out. What birds. Of course. She says shes never seen coalmines before and definitely no closer. To. The next destination is the vemma the goal is to find out what quality of the water has friends of the earth germany isnt just involved in conservation its more pro active that. These strange cones for. The. New lines women. Heidi and to nicholas im sure what them and to do with them the technical term for them these aqua scope. One c. Quipped they set off to take a close look at the valve. That. You know. And the students are assigned different exercises and i need one you know no one is the first one is to give the water a sniff they discover it smells of fish but in a healthy way. Then it should follow that there are lots of fish here right. Idea nicholas of something in the net at least. In the little guy nice. Guys. And they want to identify it. Thats right in front of. It and wont is it this is nicholas things its a strike because station. Either you. Get this empty pole that is very salt tolerant but weve only found this one species with tiles that means the quality of the water isnt as good as it should be. Because the salt means that other species cant live here anymore and were not. Even. The where a has been polluted by the salty waste waters of the potage industry which have contaminated the wera and the groundwater. We can see that is having an impact. Nicholas being brave ones to try it. For for making us that he cant taste the salt. Can but thinks that might just be the sweat on her hands. The vera is in fact the sole just river in europe and this location its about a soldier is the bowl take even though it looks like pristine. That means more conservation efforts are needed but something heidi a necklace of learned today. It was great fun particularly that we were allowed to help out and try things she says it was a nice day a lively ball of nicholas agrees. Twenty kilometers further north conservationists and barnum mental activists meet on every first saturday november this man has been involved in the event since its inception. Good morning we have a lot planned for today we have to plant forty five trees with not planted that many in years were planting in border situations and we plan to overcome borders. Lets get to work. It definitely looks like work but how can digging and posts overcome borders. Were just outside of the town of if to infere injure the former border fence and patrol road but still very visible here. Thats the purpose of the art project bound cards and i stood by artist you hundreds stood given the event is taking place for the twenty fifth time bringing the artist environmentalist and pastor overbeck together at the former death strip. In november. It was a crazy experience in november nine hundred ninety to plant one hundred and forty trees to create this tree cross. Along the bay seven road and the border fence. Went that was incredible. I remember this woman who stood at the border fence and. She was from the neighboring village and has. And when she was asked what this felt like to her she said. Like a resurrection of. Forty norway maples three limes and two saw apple trees have to be planted as quickly as possible and are a mental activist a golf mover back had to be persuaded to take part in the Tree Planting event twenty five years ago. We have what. We wanted to be involved and change environmental policy someone came up to me and said we want to plant trees and i said planting possibly along the roadside isnt my thing. But then i understood what the people cared about it was this idea put forward by you as a voice that everyone could be an artist it wasnt just about this initial sculpture about planting a few trees it was about a social sculpture so to all. The tree cross has grown to a thousand trees. The goal is for these avenues to connect eisenach in theory with castle it has. Every year in november volunteers from all over germany and switzerland come to plant trees the people are just as much part of the sculpture as the trees and the border fence say a lot of a back and the artist youre hamish could give. You an order fences and walls of the most primitive forms of a border along this green band this is the only location where the fan still survives. Yes its one of the longest original stretches of the border fence in the whole of germany we rode to the rhine a employment at that time he was the minister for disarmament we told him about this project we wanted to launch with one letter he gave us the permission to keep the funds like we showed this letter whenever anyone came claiming everything had to be removed because there were laws and so on the patrol road along the tree cross is deliberately kept clear. Kinds of the border to all families apart people demonstrated that was my First Encounter with the patrol road i put an altar on the road and celebrated a service that made quite an impression filed thats why. The newly planted trees will likely survive the fence and serve as a lasting reminder to the former border that you cant quite imagine anymore that this border divided the whole country and because i had no experience of it it was completely unreal to me because theres nothing comparable in the world when i think its important to plant these trees here in prevented from being forgotten because at some point the fence will be gone im the first generation that didnt experience it it shouldnt be forgotten the trees will stay. The avenues will continue to grow a little further year on year every november. Just. To. Even bag is located at the southernmost point of the border between has been fewer injuries. One man has spent a lot of time line glow here. Friends call him the paint job among the photographers. Youre going to hold scholars and has been involved in conservation in the region for forty years. And. This is trumpet like and great. For. Twenty five years ago i wouldnt have dad walk along here this is former east german territory we have the border model where hessen bavaria and late as an unknown tooling clift or. Descendant taishan marks where the border was located. This part is bavarians part of the engine and thats has been. His grandfather inspired his infusing as im from nature and so he came to be a nature photographer to. Help. Watching my great story birds fly to the ring or across east germany heading north in the one nine hundred eighty s. Always filled me with such a sense of longing i always wondered what it looked like over there you could always look across from has an older varia and see that there were raspy shes here that it disappeared elsewhere but what. They had a good population of when chats european stone shots from the great grey shrikes and red kites perfect conditions here. But these were so the actual and recipes. There are the shiny black stone. Which is threatened by extinction. The rare yellow one tail well camouflaged grey partridges. The stoat. And different toad and plant species and if hes really lucky youre going to hold house and find rest snake species the kind weve seen for the know in this green but. This is european adam habitats. Hes not scared of the endangered reptiles. But. Of course you treat these snakes with respect when youre lying on the ground at eyelevel with the snake trying to take a nice picture of itself so. This is always been his favorite spot even back when it was still in the death strip. Aside that the on the eastern side of the environment was widely abused everything was razed to the ground they even used clothes and to keep down growth so they could see tracks if someone had dead approaches the boredom and the money but the air is in front of the border and looking plea unused and valuable would be for a lot of them but i could be one for them thats when the guns we had before and what i hear or yes is stuff of the diamond side has regenerated now and is adapted so its all turned out well in the reopened parts and. We have this entire greenbelt because it was a great lifeline that meanders old away through germany on the limbs other than constructs one pretty. From death strip to greenbelt the foreman dividing line is now a wildlife haven. Meet the germans new and surprising aspects of life and culture in germany. Us american good news it takes a look at germany it is interesting that the traditions everyday lives and language just a lot of. Young good. Looking guy r t w dot com the germans. Will make the something nice when i ask him to daughters or dealing with anyone at all they killed many civilians with him in the National Coming including my father. Just as i was a student because i wanted to build a life for myself. But suddenly life became elish a kind of sob. Providing insights global news that matters d. W. Made for mines. Was. This is d w news law from birth len spains king takes sides in the capital and secession crisis king felipe came down squarely on the side of madrid calling catalan leaders they responsible and the regions independence bid unlawful