Dear Readers,
Do you like an attractive bouquet of flowers? Do you enjoy visiting the zoo? Do you also get pleasure from relaxing in a beautiful garden or a fragrant forest? Are you committed to a sustainable world? In that case we have a common interest: forming and conserving nature.
The Peter Lenné School - a technical college for agriculture - is not only the largest agricultural college in Germany, it is also a diverse school with a special atmosphere.
Over 2,000 pupils attend our school, preparing to be gardeners, florists, animal keepers and forestry managers, training in these occupations or receiving further professional training. They come not only from the Berlin-Brandenburg region, but also from farther afield. Our zookeepers, for instance, are from all over eastern Germany and even from African countries like the students at our 'Landesstelle für gewerbliche Berufsförderung in Entwicklungsländern’ (Regional Office for the Promotion of Industrial Occupations in Developing Countries).
Our visitors are always amazed at the diversity of our livestock. In special classes pupils learn about measures to protect endangered breeds of domestic animals such as the Leinegans (goose) or the Rotbuntes Husumer Protestschwein (pig). In our greenhouses and outdoor sites our pupils learn what nature feels like whilst cultivating plants for the garden and the balcony, arranging floral designs or building raised flowerbeds. The entire school grounds are laid out like a botanical garden where pupils can learn to observe, touch, smell and taste. Tropical fish from Asia cavort in our 1,000-litre freshwater aquarium, and geckos from Madagascar will soon be the main attraction.
Incidentally, we also offer “normal lessons” in regularly refurbished classrooms, backed up by a specialist library containing 20,000 volumes, modern computer rooms and a sports hall. During the breaks, our canteen offers a wide variety of food and drink.
Reinforcing river banks in Brittany, building stairs at the Arctic Circle and viniculture in Bohemia: in co-operation with foreign partner schools, we arrange internships for interested pupils in France, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland lasting several weeks. We regularly organise special tri-national projects, from which our pupils can gain intercultural competencies.
All this would not be possible without my approx. 100 highly-motivated colleagues - pedagogical and technical staff in the gardening and administrative sectors. Our common aim is the professional and personal development of our pupils.
Please visit us on our "Open Day" - which we hold every February - or at our website www.peter-lenne-schule.de.
We look forward to seeing you!
Rainer Leimgruber
Schulleiter
(Headmaster)
