Germany Gives Military Bases Back to Nature (Because They Don’t Need Them Anymore!)

In Germany, 62 military bases are now deemed unnecessary – so they’re being transformed to wildlife sanctuaries to help protect rare birds and other animals.

“We are seizing a historic opportunity with this conversion — many areas that were once no-go zones are no longer needed for military purposes,” says Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks. “We are fortunate that we can now give these places back to nature.”

The government initially thought about selling the 31,000 hectares of land as real estate. Instead, they decided to consider the environmental benefits of conversion, which will see the country’s total area of protected wildlife increase by 25%.