Would you like to become a  forester?

Training as a forester is carried out in the City of Bonn's urban forester's office, which is organizationally part of the Office for Urban Greenery. The main tasks of the Bonn City Forester's Office include the management of the city forest and the maintenance of diverse biotope areas. Do you feel at home in the midst of nature and all its facets? Then training as a forester is probably the perfect fit for you!

The team works from the depot on the Venusberg. The team also includes trainees, participants in the Voluntary Ecological Year (FÖJ) and interns. The depot has changing rooms, sanitary facilities, recreation rooms, offices and storage rooms. All necessary vehicles, machines and equipment are available on site and are used for the professional maintenance of the municipal forest and biotope areas. The Haus der Natur is located in the immediate vicinity.

A total of 610 hectares of municipal forest and 142 hectares of biotope areas are managed and maintained.

The main tree species in the Bonn municipal forest are beech with a 25% share, followed by oak with a 19% share and pine with a 16% share. In total, there are more than 40 tree and shrub species in the municipal forest. A special feature is the high proportion of multi-layered mixed stands. Every year, up to 2,300 cubic meters of wood are sustainably felled, which is mainly marketed to regional sawmills and private firewood customers. The Bonn municipal forest has been awarded the Naturland certificate, which is based on a high nature conservation standard. The Bonn City Forest has a very high proportion of deadwood and 10% of its areas are under process protection.

Biotope areas include toad and frog biotopes, lizard habitats, green woodpecker meadows, orchards, pollarded willows, ponds, quarries and various high-quality meadow areas with different plant compositions within the area of responsibility of the Bonn City Forestry Office. The Bonn city forest therefore has a lot to offer in terms of flora and fauna!

Your main tasks in the forest include timber harvesting, including the marketing of wood as a raw material, the maintenance of forest stands, the construction, maintenance and inspection of local recreational facilities, the management of the municipal game reserve, the inspection of forest trees as part of traffic safety measures, the use of cherry pickers, clearing forest paths, creating clearance profiles, planting trees, using forestry machinery and equipment, building forest paths, maintaining and servicing equipment and machinery, working with forestry contractors, building wildlife protection fences and many other exciting fields of activity.

Your main activities in biotope area maintenance include the maintenance of various biotope areas, such as toad and lizard biotopes, nature conservation measures for various species, pruning fruit trees in urban orchards, clearing quarries and dry stone walls, maintaining pollarded willows and maintaining high-quality meadow areas. Basic skills in handling the necessary machines and equipment as well as the associated protective equipment are taught.

Training as a forest manager therefore offers you a wide range of tasks and activities and takes place in the dual system. Vocational school lessons usually take place in the form of block lessons at the Eichholz vocational college in Arnsberg. In addition, you will take part in several inter-company training courses at the Forestry Training Center for Forestry Work and Technology in Neheim-Hüsten. Here you will gain an insight into modern forestry techniques. You will also learn important basics for your vocational training.

Training with the City of Bonn begins on August 1 of each year and lasts three years. Under certain conditions (previous education, performance), the training period can be shortened on application.