Can a single person protect nature and help us rediscover its beauty? Can a single person change the world we live in? These are precisely the questions at the heart of the 60-minute documentary *Wie geht Natur?!*. They are answered through the life and work of Brandenburg-based biologist Prof. Dr. Michael Succow, who succeeded in doing just that. As an accomplished ornithologist, he stood out even as a child in the GDR. As a nonconformist advocate for nature’s rights and a bog expert, he grew into the role of his life during the period of German reunification.
In a true political thriller, he worked with a small group of close associates during a historic period to develop the largest nature conservation program Germany has ever seen. Whether Saxon Switzerland, Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve, the Spreewald, or many others—the major national parks and UNESCO biosphere reserves in eastern Germany all date back to this period.
1990 marked a defining moment for German nature conservation. Five national parks, six biosphere reserves, and three nature parks were established across 4.5 percent of the GDR’s land area. Over the past 35 years, many more have been added in Germany based on this model. A German-German nature conservation revolution.
After German reunification, Michael Succow used these successes as a model to place even more natural areas under protection—from Kyrgyzstan to Kamchatka to Ethiopia—for which he was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize in 1997.
Countless people have been inspired and motivated by Michael Succow to engage in nature conservation. *How’s Nature?!* visits some of them and introduces visionaries who are working to preserve healthy soils, new primeval forests, and ancient bogs in Germany. After all, stories of successful nature conservation are written by many people.
We live in times of complex challenges and global crises. It’s important not to despair, not to give up. *Wie geht Natur?!* encourages us to stand up for our ideals and for nature.
A film by Carsten Krüger Filmproduktions GmbH / Hier Medien GmbH on behalf of HaDeZett gGmbH by Jakob Friedrich and Jason Krüger Executive Producer Kathrin Succow Director, Camera, Sound, and Editing Jakob Friedrich Writers Jason Krüger, David Bredel Technical Consultant Kathrin Succow Film Production Jakob Friedrich, Jason Krüger Sound Mixing: Sebastian Reuter Color Grading: Jakob Friedrich Narrator: Christoph Letkowski Music: mobygratis Funded by: German Federal Environmental Foundation, Michael Otto Environmental Foundation, Dieter Mennekes Environmental Foundation, Michael Succow Foundation, Maria Opitz-Döllinger Foundation
