Rewilding Forest near Mulkwitz, Saxony

255 m² of forest in Upper Lusatia

Location: Mulkwitz, Municipality of Schleife, Saxony
Habitat: Small forested area with birch and pine
trees Size: 255 m²
Rewilding: No forestry operations and no timber harvesting; natural forest development
Status: Inspected and permanently removed from commercial use

Our small rewilding forest near Mulkwitz

eMission-X owns a 255 m² forest area near Mulkwitz in Upper Lusatia, Saxony.

The property is located within a larger forested area not far from the state border between Saxony and Brandenburg.

During our site visit, we observed a sparse forest stand characterized by birch and pine trees, among others. Therefore, reforestation or major initial restoration is not necessary.

The forest is already there.

Our primary task is to refrain from exploiting it commercially.

No forestry and no timber harvesting

No forestry management takes place on the property. Trees are not felled for timber, and the stand is not managed according to economic criteria.

Existing trees are allowed to age, young trees can establish themselves naturally, and dead wood can remain on the site—provided there are no compelling reasons against it.

We do not dictate what kind of forest will develop here in the long term.

We let natural processes decide.

Rewilding on 255 square meters?

255 m² is not a wilderness landscape.

Nevertheless, even such a small forested area can be permanently removed from commercial use.

For eMission-X, therefore, it’s not just the size of a plot of land that matters. What matters is what happens to it in the long term.

Will the forest be used commercially, with timber harvested regularly?

Or is the area given the opportunity to develop naturally without any silvicultural objectives?

For our property in Mulkwitz, we opted for the second option.

Part of a Larger Forest Area

Our 255 m² are not isolated in the landscape but are part of a much larger forested area.

For natural processes, the property line is initially just a line on a map. Plants, fungi, and animals do not orient themselves by property boundaries.

What we can influence on our 255 m² is therefore primarily how the land is used:

No forestry takes place on our land.

Sometimes rewilding is pretty simple

Mulkwitz is one of the properties where we don’t need to plant trees or create a new habitat.

We’re simply giving the existing forest time to thrive.

No timber production.
No traditional forestry.
No guidelines on what the forest should look like in the future.

Buy the forest. Stop using it. Let the forest be a forest.

Permanent space for natural forest development

The 255 m² forest area will remain permanently removed from commercial use and left to develop naturally.

While Mulkwitz is one of our smallest rewilding properties, perhaps that’s precisely why it’s a good example of our principle:

Not every nature conservation project has to start big.