Fraxinus pennsylvanica 'Zundert' - Red Ash 'Zundert'

Manuela Seibold, the director of the crèche, was initially pretty surprised when she heard about the donated tree sponsorship. But her joy would be enormous: "We say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this generous gesture, and we feel very honoured!" She also confirms that she has initiated age-appropriate environmental projects with the very young in the past. For example, she tells us about a rubbish project. "We sorted rubbish into different bins. This way, the 1 to 3-year-olds are playfully sensitised to the topic."

Manuela Seibold has been running the Day Nursery "Krabbelstube Weihenstephan", sponsored by the Munich Student Union for well-over ten years. She is not only an educational specialist but has also completed additional training as a crèche teacher. There are 12 childcare places available for the toddlers of students and campus employees. "I want our crèche to be like a second home for the children. That is achieved through a good settling-in period. In my experience, they need about three months to become familiar with the environment and the procedures. The better this acclimatisation, the more stable they are throughout the entire crèche year - and the more comfortable they feel," says Manuela Seibold. At the same time, she emphasises how important "feeling comfortable" is for her four staff members and the children's parents. The latter, in particular, should have a good feeling when they bring their little ones to the crèche.

The general conditions are well taken care of: The rooms are well equipped, and there is a often used, large garden depending on the daily structure and weather conditions. An interesting detail is that the location on today's Weihenstephan campus was originally the operating and office building of an experimental greenhouse. "When I started here in 2009, the greenhouse still existed. Today, there is our cloakroom and a storage room for prams in a wooden extension," Manuela Seibold says. One day, the arboretum will offer herself, her staff and the children a memorable "green" destination. "We will certainly visit our sponsor tree and tell the children about the many functions of trees. The 2 to 3 year olds already have the necessary understanding for this," says the crèche director.

On the homepage of the Weihenstephan crèche, it says: "If I am carried by confidence, trust, affection, I will take root." Parallel to this educational goal of the crèche, its sponsor tree, a red ash tree "Zundert" (Fraxinus pennsylvanica "Zundert"), will now also take deep roots and hopefully feel as comfortable and develop as well in the arboretum as the crèche children and future climate researchers do in the Weihenstephan crèche of the Student Union. They and the whole crèche team say a big thank you to the Förderkreis for ensuring that many more generations of crèche children will enjoy this sponsor tree.

Distribution: Wild species from North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, wet lowlands and swamps.

Size: 15 to 18 metres high and 6 to 8 metres wide

Leaves: deciduous, opposite, pinnate, 12 to 25 cm long, yellow autumn colours

Flower: yellow-greenish

Fruits: fruitless