24Wildflower meadow
Our next stop is beside the high-field MRT building, and is the third and last wildflower meadow of this tour. Next to the field is a decommissioned magnetic coil from one of the MRT instruments, which was set up here as a public display.
A flower mix called Butterfly and Wild Bee Fringe was selected with special consideration for the foraging needs of wild bees and butterflies. The mix also contains low plants that serve as food and shelter for caterpillars. It has a long flowering period with some species that flower early, such as Barbara's weed, dandelion and ribwort, to mid-summer species such as mallow, daisy and poppy, which guarantee a continuous food source for insects.
Like the nine other wildflower meadows on campus, this one primarily serves as a food supply for insects which visitors can enjoy alongside the plants in the summer. In addition to butterflies, the campus is also home to wild bees and honey bee colonies. After a study in the journal PLoS ONE reported in 2017 that the biomass of flying insects in Germany has declined by more than 75 percent in the past 27 years, insect hotels have been set up in many places and wildflower meadows have been created to support organisms that are essential for a vital natural world and thus for our healthy lives. The ten wildflower meadows are therefore an integral part of the green health Campus Berlin-Buch.
