Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey Final Report

PUBLIC

THE SOUTHERN UPLANDS PARTNERSHIP Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey

November 2019

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015

Contents

1. How was the idea for the project developed?...... 3 2. Who was involved in the project? Individuals and Organisations…………………………………… 4 3. What were the aims and objectives of the project?...... 4 4. How was the funding package assembled?...... 4 5. How much money did LEADER provide?...... 4 6. When did the project take place?...... 4 7. What actually happened?...... 4 8. Detail how the project fits with the Local Development Strategy……………………………………. 11 9. How was the project delivered?...... 11 10. What marketing was undertaken?...... 11 11. Who benefitted from the project?...... 11 12. How did the final budget turn out?...... 11 13. What lessons have been learnt?...... 12 14. Will the project be mainstreamed or transferred?...... 13 15. Detail the sustainability of the project and/or the exit strategy…………………………………… 13

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey

1. How was the idea for the project developed? Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere (GSAB) has been recognised internationally as a world class environment for people and nature. Designated in July 2012 the UNESCO Biosphere designation is recognition of the fantastic array of landscapes, wildlife, cultural heritage and learning opportunities that SW Scotland offers for communities, businesses and visitors to experience and celebrate in a sustainable way. One of the key objectives from public sector partners in securing UNESCO Biosphere designation was to use the international association with UNESCO to label and brand the region to stimulate new economic opportunities. A key way of achieving this was seen as adding value to goods and services through the development of a qualitative certification mark that would represent the sustainability ethos that UNESCO Biospheres around the world represent. In June 2018, following a pilot with three local businesses the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Certification mark was launched by the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Tourism Fiona Hyslop. The certification scheme has targeted businesses including local accommodation providers, food producers, bio- mass manufacturers, outdoor activity companies etc. Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere are the only UK Biosphere to have gone down this route although others are keen to follow suit. Internationally the two best examples of success in this field are the Rhon Biosphere in Germany and Entlbuch Biosphere in Switzerland, both of whom have been the subject of academic studies looking at the added value they have brought to their respective regions. The Rhon Biosphere is not dissimilar to our own – comprising of rolling hills, woodlands and farmland it is an open cultural landscape shaped by human use for many centuries. Naturally, the region would have been covered by beech forest however extensive agriculture and dairy farming has transformed the old forests into grasslands. Today the landscapes are noted for their rich ecological diversity which are the result of a long period of environmentally sustainable agriculture. Designated in 1991 It has a population of 165 000 and in 2007 with the support of their local LEADER group developed Dachmarke Rhon which embraces the sustainability ethos of UNESCO Biospheres and has now been adopted by 300 businesses across the Biosphere. In 2014 it was named as the 9th International Dark Sky Park apparently copied from us here in Galloway!

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Its recognised that for the UNESCO Biosphere brand to gain real traction it needs to appear in the promotion of more than just a few products, services or villages. It needs to become synonymous with SW Scotland. This is something that the Rhon Biosphere appear to have achieved. Following a period of communication with representatives from the Rhon Biosphere with an open invite was made for GSAB to visit. The proposal was to take a group of local D&G business representatives operating in the Biosphere to meet their German counterparts in the Rhon Biosphere to learn how they have developed and managed the use of the Dachemark Rhon brand.

2. Who was involved in the project? Individuals and Organisations. Southern Uplands Partnership were the lead partner through Ed Forrest SUP Project Manager. Business involved in the learning journey and development opportunity included Marie McNulty Biosphere Business Development Officer, Ian Tunaley Visit Scotland, Esther Tacke Galloway Cycle Holidays, Melanie Allan Nithbank Country Hotel, Sarah-Jane Allsopp Heart of Galloway and Rosie Gray Galloway Flowers.

3. What were the aims and objectives of the project? To learn lessons from the Rhon Biosphere about how they have used the UNESCO Biosphere designation to add value to their local economy. To generate wider understanding of the economic potential that the UNESCO Biosphere offers to small businesses and local tourism that can be transferred to D&G. To create an advocacy group of local businesses and tourism representatives who will share their Rhon Biosphere learning with other local D&G partners.

4. How was the funding package assembled? The Learning Journey was 100% funded through D&G LEADER

5. How much money did LEADER provide? D&G LEADER provided funding of £5,000 for the learning journey.

6. When did the project take place? The Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey project took place between 30/09/2019 and 30/03/2020.

7. What actually happened? The visit to the Rhon was 36 hours of highly intensive conference meetings with administrative bodies involved in managing the UNESCO Biosphere, the Dachmarke Rhon brand label and businesses from a range

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 of sectors that positively promote their association with the Rhon Biosphere, see appendices. Experiences gained from the visit were shared as part of Biosphere Good for Businesses event held in January 2020. Rhon Biosphere Administrative Team The Rhön biosphere is situated in the lower mountain ranges of central Germany straddling the former East / West German border. Its just over an hour away from the industrial centre of Frankfurt and is surrounded by a number smaller cities. At just over 1800 sq km the Rhön is known as the ’land of open vistas’. An open cultural landscape shaped by human use for many centuries it consists of rolling hills, woodlands and farmland. Naturally, the region would have been covered by beech forest however extensive agriculture and dairy farming has transformed much of the old forests into grasslands. Today the landscapes are noted for their rich ecological diversity which are the result of a long period of environmentally sustainable agriculture. It has a population of almost 200,000 and in 2014 it was named as the 9th International Dark Sky Park – they copied us here in Galloway! The similarities to GSAB do not stop there, it also overlaps with three Federal states Thuringia, Hesse and Bavaria, has social issues linked to the outward migration of young people, particularly from the former East German areas with associated issues re employment, and a historic lack of infrastructure due to having been perceived as being at the edge of the former West Germany. However, its position as a former border region has also resulted in areas of old woodland that have been left to nature, and agricultural land that until recently had not been heavily improved with associated biodiversity benefits. Key species they are involved in conserving include Black Grouse and Red Kites. Their funding resource structure is significantly different from ourselves. Each federal state funds and supports its own Biosphere team. So Hesse where we were hosted has three Biosphere officers who lead on the ‘technical work’ and six Biosphere rangers who do the ‘education and outreach work’. They also have an operating budget of approx. €0.5M/year. This is then duplicated to a greater or lesser extent in the other two neighbouring federal states. Each area also runs its own projects so Hesse currently has a five year multi million euro LIFE project focused on grassland management, but it only operates within that federal state. The other states run their own projects. The three lead Biosphere Coordinators meet monthly to ensure their individual actions are all still working towards a shared strategic plan for the whole of the Biosphere.

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015

Biosphere. This enabled a Board to be formed comprising local businesses and the local administrations all of which is over seen by the Biosphere and local government officials. As with GSAB they have a two tier membership structure one which is focused on the “region” and another which is a “quality mark”. They have a membership of 300 Partners of whom approx. 200 are ‘producers’, 70 are ‘gastronomy’. This includes 80 organic farms who support 38 butchers. Approximately 50 of the partners are very active and work closely with the Dachmarke Rhön team developing new activities to further awareness of the brand. The gastronomy businesses are awarded a star rating (1-3) depending on the percentage of local produce contained within their menus 35%, 45% or 65%. Originally developed around food and drink which can demonstrate organic and sustainable origins they have just started looking at the opportunities to bring together food and tourism in the last couple of years. They are doing this with a new ‘mark’. Like GSAB there is pressure for intensification of dairy farming and the production of cheap regional meat which doesn’t meet the ‘sustainability’ criteria of the dachmarke Rhon and has associated impacts on local landscapes and biodiversity. However, whilst there isn’t a history of cheese production in the region this intensification has encouraged local traditional dairies to explore new market opportunities through a mobile creamery which has created opportunities for artisan cheese making. Unlike Scotland responsibility for tourism promotion in the region is solely down to individual federal states, with Visit Germany only focused on providing international marketing. They have actively embraced the Dark Sky Park designation with 80 trained guides engaging with 3000+ people a year on low cost €5-€8 events. Most visitors are German.

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Business Visits Papillon Paragliding Wasserkuppe At 950m Wasserkuppe is the highest mountain in the Biosphere, it has a long history of being a tourist destination and view point, looking out across former east and west Germany. Its location also made it a centre initially for hang gliding and more recently for para gliding due to the 360 degree open aspects that means which ever direction the wind comes from its ‘clean’ and with minimal turbulence. This has led to the development of a centre for para gliding that sells and maintains equipment, as well as instructing both days visitors and weeklong courses. With 140 staff it operates both winter and summer, and also has bases in Italy and Austria. This has led to development of mountain bike hire, a restaurant that excels in local produce and the development of 14 high quality accommodation buildings sleeping between 4-8 people each. Alongside them on the mountain top is a small ski area that in winter provides downhill and cross country skiing and in summer has tree top rope courses and summer toboggan runs, a sort of low key gravity powered roller coaster than runs down the hill. The owner of this business designs and sells the toboggan runs all around the world.

Rhön Info Center on the Wasserkuppe The Wasserkuppe information-centre provides information on the local wildlife, walking trails and local accommodation. It also hosts a small regional shop selling Dachmarke Rhon products. Together with the outdoor activities these facilities make the mountain one of the key tourism attractions in the area attracting around 1M visitors a year. Whilst it is considered ‘off the beaten track’ it is fairly central in Germany and so is seen as a useful meeting point for families and friends coming from other parts of Germany.

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Dachmarkenregal Edeka Dachmarkenregal Edeka (Rehm) in Gersfeld was a local supermarket chain that had embraced sales of the Dachmarke Rhön produce. Selling 500 Biosphere branded regional products they were actively wanting to support local businesses. They highlighted one of their challenges as being unable to secure a reliable supply of local meat due to limited supplies of dachmarke Rhon branded stock, and local butchers also wanting to sell produce direct to the consumer. They did highlight that 70% of regional product purchases were by tourists and only 30% to local people, primarily use the price difference with mass produced food items. They had actively created new display areas for local produce in the centre of the store so that shoppers had to walk past it which helped create additional custom. Gersfeld the town they were located in was a tourist hotspot with a significant number of tourist beds available.

Rhönsprudel mineral water Rhönsprudel is a mineral water bottling plant that has 20 wells from which it sources its water. They own the land around each well to ensure that no contaminants pollute the water and have a very close relationship with the Biosphere. Not only do all their bottles and lorries highlight that the water comes from the Biosphere but they also put on an annual Spring Festival with music, entertainment and Biosphere led activities that attracts 10,000 people. As a company they have reduced disposable plastic bottles to less than 20% of their production and have agreement across Germany with other mineral water companies that all glass bottles are the same design meaning they can all recycle any bottle within their bottling plants meaning each one gets used around 80 times. Interestingly even though Rhönsprudel are a strong supporter of the Biosphere they didn’t use the Dachmarke Rhon brand preferring to make reference to the Biosphere within the labelling as the source of their water, which they clearly see as setting them apart from competitors.

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Pax-Bräu micro brewery Pax-Bräu is a local micro brewery that has been created in old cow sheds in the middle of a small village. Employing just 2 people (another 6 or 7 when bottling) they create 23 different varieties of beer using organic malt/hops and foraging or purchasing from local suppliers for local flavourings to add to the beer. With the beer only sold in the Rhön Biosphere they have a strong local following of shops, restaurants and sales direct from the brewery. They linked in with the local community by offering free beer in exchange to volunteers helping them forage key produce from hedgerows for the beer at different times of the year. Their interest in using the dachmarke Rhon brand was that they felt it reflected their values as a small business.

Hotel Krenzers Hotel Krenzers Rhön was the accommodation where we stayed. It was themed around the famous Rhön sheep of central Germany with rooms individually designed to represent key features. So some beds were designed as shepherds huts, others as barns, some had imitation grass on the walls etc. Apples were also a major part of the theme again with bedrooms designed around this. As well as specialising in meals that were based around local produce they also had a side line in apples produce. They grew over 180 different varieties themselves, and collected in other apples from local farmers that were then pressed and used to make apple wine, apple juice etc. They also produced their own apple sherry that after being distilled was aged in Scottish single malt barrels. Whilst the owner was a very active supporter of the Dachmarke brand involved in many of their committees he didn’t use it on his own drink produce as he was particular about how he presented is labelling and felt it detracted. He did however have it on his restaurant, hotel and marketing.

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Weckbach Farm Weckbach was a small farm that maintained herds of traditional beef cattle and Rhön sheep that were used across the biosphere for conservation grazing of the grasslands. The farmer didn’t own more than a few hectares of land but had diversified into a ‘petting farm’ which was popular with families and also a small restaurant and shop where he sold his own produce. As a local ‘character’ he was an attraction himself with or without the local produce and animals! His focus was very much one of quality not quantity – something that was repeated by most of the businesses we met.

Biohof Gensler Biohof Gensler was an organic farm shop first established in 1999 that had a very strong ethos behind it of only supporting local businesses who came up to his own organic standards and principals of ‘fairness and respect’ for each other and the local environment. Such was his reputation that he was an annual stop for Korean student visits to Europe that were studying supply chains and local produce. With German sausage and bread he had both a local and visitor following. He’d also diversified into corporate and family parties with activities based around baking cakes etc. Latterly he’d also started on accommodation with wigwams available to stay in, food offered through the farm shop café etc. He felt the Biosphere model fitted his own personal principals in life and so was a strong supporter, feeling it could add real value to the region. His sausage were branded ‘Bios-fair’ a play on words linked to both the Biosphere and ‘fairness’. For his business diversification he had expressly avoided EU funding as he felt it wasn’t adaptable enough to the innovation rural businesses need to show with plans evolving continually as the business develops.

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 8. Detail how the project fits with the Local Development Strategy. The LDS recognises the Biosphere status as a key strength for the region. It also identifies Lack of awareness of the region as threat to the development of rural tourism. It recognises Tourism and the Biosphere as a key economic opportunities for the region. The Rhon Biosphere learning journey contributed to delivery of the LDS by; • Demonstrating to local business and influencers the value of using the UNESCO Biosphere brand when promoting the region both nationally and internationally. • Demonstrating how local businesses can add value to their products / services by promoting their alignment to the UNESCO Biosphere ethos of ‘sustainability’. • Contributing to the creation of a network of regional ‘champions’ to actively promote UNESCO Biosphere opportunities to other businesses

9. How was the project delivered? The Biosphere officers invited participants to apply to take part in the learning journey ensuring the group gave a broad spread of sectoral interests and that the individuals taking part were positioned to share their experiences more widely with other local businesses.

10. What marketing was undertaken? Examples of local marketing from the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere were taken to the Rhon Biosphere. No formal marketing of the project was under taken with most promotion being via social media.

11. Who benefitted from the project? The seven participants that took part in the learning journey were direct beneficiaries of the visit all of them have gained a greater understanding of how association with the UNESCO Biosphere brand can add value to their respective businesses. Subsequent to the visit the learning has been shared at a Biosphere Good for Business event attended by almost 40 businesses from across the Biosphere. In addition it has been shared at Visit Scotland in house training and the participants themselves have been sharing both formally and informally through their own networks. The business outcomes of growth and diversification from participation will take time to emerge.

12. How did the final budget turn out? The spend on the final budget was £3,931.08

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 13. What lessons have been learnt? The businesses we were introduced to were obviously those most positive about the Dachmarke brand and Biosphere ethos and it is aligned with their own principals. Whilst it had been originally conceived as quality mark for the produce, it was increasingly being seen by businesses also as a sign of their commitment to the region, to other local businesses, to the community and to surrounding ‘landscape’. It was noted that villages had signs at their entrances acknowledging they were in a UNESCO Biosphere. It was very visible with all of the business visited, who were actively promoting the Biosphere brand on their produce, or in words on their own labels, in their marketing literature or through plaques at the entrance to their premises. It was an identity they were both proud off and keen to share with others. Whilst the primary market appeared to be tourism both for the food and drink and for the accommodation and activities, the Dachmarke Rhön did also hold an appeal for more affluent or perhaps discerning local often urban shoppers who were prepared to pay a premium for such products. So farmer’s markets in the surrounding cities were keen to sell local produce, as were supermarkets or farm shops in tourist hot spots within the Biosphere, but local people who tended to be on low incomes were generally looking for cheap and more affordable food. With an operating budget of €200k/year the Dachmarke Rhön brings in approx. €40k/year from business fees (based on the number of employees). Due in part to its very close associations with the local regional administration they make up the balance of the operating costs seeing this as also supporting a local economy based on tourism, farming, small scale producers etc. This close association with the local administration also extended to the Biosphere opinion being actively sought as part of the decision making process for developments and changes taking place in the region.

Conclusions The Learning Journey clearly demonstrated to the businesses that took part how in Germany consumers place a real value on products and services that are aligned to the UNESCO Biosphere values. It showed how people are prepared to pay a higher price to support a business that is seen as embracing that ethos. It also demonstrated how the Biosphere ethos goes beyond traditional measures of environmental sustainability to being part of a network of local businesses giving mutual support and respect to each other. All the businesses that took part have come away with plans to increase the visibility of the UNESCO Biosphere in their own marketing and engagement with consumers.

At a Biosphere wide level there are lots of similarities between the two Biospheres both socially, environmentally and economically. Perhaps the most glaring difference is that the Rhon has been in existence significantly longer that GSAB (20+ years) and as part of the local administration are significantly better resourced and more firmly embedded with the local policy and decision makers. That said GSAB has achieved a huge amount in a very short space of time. We have 150+ Proud Supporter Businesses and we have 21 Certified Business. That means we are already half way to their 300 Business Partners and 50 active Business Partners in only four years compared to the 20+ years it took them.

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

Our approach to a broader range of sectors such as accommodation, activity providers, primary and secondary producers, arts and crafts has perhaps given us a more ‘joined up’ approach from the outset and has opened the door to our packaging of Biosphere experiences, something the Rhön are only just beginning to explore. However, their longstanding push on regional produce and the links between that with ‘quality assurance’ has suited the Biosphere approach much more so than the food and drink industry here which has focused primarily on ‘Made in Scotland’. Access to infrastructure such as local slaughter houses and the mobile creamery have also offered easily accessible ways for rural businesses to add value to their products. With a relatively accessible urban population and significant tourism industry this has given them a much firmer foundation on which to build the Dachmarke Rhön brand and identity.

14. Will the project be mainstreamed or transferred? The learning from the project created a nucleus of enthusiastic businesses and officers who since the learning journey have shared their experiences on a number of occasions. Presentations have been made to the Biosphere Partnership Board, Visit Scotland representatives and in January 2020 to almost 40 businesses who attended an event Biosphere Good for Business where two of the business participants gave their personal views on what they learnt from the visit. The sharing of these experiences has created a new impetus from businesses who want to sign up for our Biosphere Certification Mark and want to actively partner and work with other who share the Biosphere ethos. So the learning has become a cornerstone in how the officers and its business partners present the UNESCO Biosphere both to other businesses and to customers. 15. Detail the sustainability of the project and/or the exit strategy. As the Biosphere continues to explore core funding opportunities the learning from this visit has been made available through the Biosphere website and is being shared at business events and through social media by both the Biosphere team and participants in the visit.

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 16. Appendices Visit Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere in Biosphere Rhön from 25. – 27.11.2019______

Monday, 25.11.2019 8:30 Meet Thornhill 12:50 Flight departs Edinburgh 15:40 Arrive Frankfurt Airport 16:13 / 17:19 Train departs Frankfurt main rail station 17:07 / 18:13 Group arrive in Fulda by Train – collected by bus to go to Hotel Krenzers Rhon https://rhoenerlebnis.de/ 19:00 meeting with Stefanie Meinecke and Silvia Hillenband (Dachmarke Rhön, https://dmr.marktplatzrhoen.de/) in Lothar-Mai-Haus - https://www.lothar-mai- haus.de/supper (à la carte), ca. 20.30 h

Tuesday, 26.11.2019 8:30 start 9:00 Wasserkuppe meeting-place: Groenhoff-Hourse, report about biosphere rhön – Torsten Raab (Rhon Biosphere Manager) tour through Wasserkuppe information-centre, regional shop 10:30 information about gliding and paragliding, holiday village (tourism activity provider) 11:45 Peterchens Mondfahrt, Wasserkuppe – Mountain restarant using Biosphere branding - https://www.peterchens-mondfahrt.de/ 13:00 Dachmarkenregal Edeka (Rehm), Gersfeld – Regional Market selling branded produce https://www.rhoentravel.de/gastronomie/regionalregal-edeka-gersfeld/ 14:00 Rhönsprudel (local drink producer) – flavoured mineral water from the Biosphere https://www.rhoensprudel.de/ 16:00 Pax-Bräu – Micro Brewery https://pax-braeu.de/ 18:00 Hotel Krenzers Rhön: guidance for houseguests (accommodation provider)

Wendnesday, 27.11.2019 8:30 start 9:00 shepherd Weckbach: information about Rhön sheep (local food producer) 10:30 Biohof Gensler, Poppenhausen – organic farm shop in the Biosphere https://www.bio-hof- gensler.com/ 12:50 Depart Fulda for Frankfurt by Train 16:20 Depart Franfurt Airport 17:15 Arrive Edinburgh 20:00 Arrive Thornhill

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 Participants Feedback Re: Rhon Biosphere Inbox x

Melanie Allen Fri, 29 Nov 2019, 09:34 to Ed, Marie, Sarah-Jane, Ian, Esther, Rosie, Ian

HI Ed

Thanks for the email and thanks so much for organising such an amazing trip - it was jam packed so enabled us to experience the various elements to the Rhon’s offering - it was so interesting to see some inspiring businesses and passionate people advocating their Biosphere.

Lots of similarities and at the same time lots of differences which we have discussed.

I think if anything it has given us the assurance and enthusiasm to crack on with what we know and how best to service our Biosphere and the businesses and people within it. It is extremely encouraging.

I think having a forum for Biosphere Supporters and Certification Mark Holders is a great idea and we may not be able to determine how exactly this is going to work but I am sure it will develop into something really meaningful at time progresses.

One thing is for sure - both Marie and yourself have done an amazing job to date with the work you have been doing when you consider the Rhon Biosphere has been established for much much longer.

Sorry I can’t make the meeting, I would have enjoyed catching up but Im going on holiday - not sure if I mentioned it?? haha!

Thanks to Esther for being a super translator and for making each visit really interesting and thanks to everyone for being really good company on the trip, I found it hugely enjoyable and beneficial.

Finally, Congratulations to Esther and Warren on your Thistle Award last night, you really deserve it, you are an inspiration to many other businesses in the Biosphere, and proof of what meaningful collaboration can do!!

Im off to find more salami and apple wine - think I’m suffering from withdrawal!!!

All the best

Melanie

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 Re: Rhon Biosphere Review Inbox x

• Rosie Gray [email protected] via mosaiclearning.onmicrosoft.comTue, 3 Dec 2019, 20:05 to Ed, Marie

Dear Ed & Marie,

Thank you so much for inviting & organising the visit last week to the Rhon Biosphere.

To be honest, I don't know what I expected as I knew so little about the region. What I found was a varied & thought provoking itinerary, & was astonished by the similarity of challenges faced (intensive agriculture, aging population for example).

I'm still picking over my learning & thinking about what to apply personally. For me, just taking a few days out from the everyday challenges was of great value - a chance to clear my head, step back & think.

• I was impressed by the Biosphere branding used by the food & drink producers we met - they all seemed to believe it added value to their brands. This is something we can all use more, hopefully to raise profile with the local population as well as tourists. Noticed that so many different logo's on products could be confusing. I definitely need to up the ante on my presentation next year - time to move beyond our simple logo created in Word & shout even more about our flower provenance! • Liked the symbols to indicate content of food locally produced in restaurants • Noticing the lessons from the Shepherd & hotel - additional income from tourist visits important to both. Great similarity with our own business & we're wrestling with this at present. Do we want to become a visitor attraction & if we did would people come to visit anyway given our location? A major rethink would be required, investment in facilities & totally different use of time - do we want to do it? Are we cut out for agritourism?

I was most surprised to learn after almost 30 years, the Biosphere focus in the Rhon appeared to be very narrow - the biosphere branding being used to develop only the food & drink sector. It made me realise how much you have both got underway already. Yes, so much more could be done if resources were there but my, there are opportunities in D&G.

• Tourism lessons; it can get so busy that the Wasserkuppe has to be closed! There were echoes of the Lake District/Devon saturation. We have a long way to go here in D&G but this is a concern I hear. • Wildlife tourism - this was given some attention at the information centre but I didn't get the feeling it was centre stage. I believe this could be a massive draw here, attracting

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 higher spending visitors all year round. Mull & Islay are doing this very well & may have lessons for us. • Outdoor activities - D&G has opportunity here. Cycling (of course!), walking, sailing, photography etc. The Wasserkrupp showed the good approaches & perhaps the risks. How do we not only encourage tourists to come but to spend money in the hotels, restaurants & shops that sustain the rural economy? • There surely must be talented artists & crafters in Rhon, as in D&G, yet the Biosphere branding didn't seem to be used by them. • The places - not knowing the Rhon at all, I've no idea where might be of interest to visit besides Fulda. The historic buildings, markets, churches or whatever didn't appear to be promoted as part of the Biosphere. Again I think the Biosphere initiatives started here are promoting 'a special place to be' from a range of perspectives. This helps not just with promoting tourism but in the long term could help attract younger, skilled people (such as medical professionals) to live here.

I'll not attend the meeting at Kirroughtree - as you can appreciate, this is a mad time of year in the flower business. But please keep me in the loop of your discussions. I look forward to the meeting in January & thoughts of where we can take this next.

Best wishes Rosie

Rosie Gray Galloway Flowers Tel; 01644 420407

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 Ian Tunaley – Feed back to Visit Scotland Colleagues Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere Visit to Biosphere Rhon in Germany 25th to the 27th of November 2019

Summary: This document is aimed to provide a summary of the visit together with observations/comments that may prove useful in terms of best practice/knowledge transfer.

Visit Background: VisitScotland were asked if we were interested in an opportunity to visit a Biosphere in Germany that has been one of the leaders in using the UNESCO Biosphere designation to promote local products and services together with their association with the UNESCO Biosphere brand as a quality mark. The visit involved opportunities to meet with German businesses and Biosphere representatives to - learn more about what worked and what didn't work in the development and management of their brand identify "dachmarke rhön" which they originally developed through a LEADER programme back in 2007. - learn about how they have used the UNESCO Biosphere designation to brand and promote the region and its local products and services. Seven people were on the visit comprising myself, Biosphere staff (2) and 4 representatives from local businesses.

Rhon Biosphere Background

- Rhon Biosphere has been in existence since 1991

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Quality Seal/Brand: - Initially established by producers with no focus on tourism businesses - Currently have 300 ‘Partners’ of which approx. 50 are very proactive - Since 2017 looking at working with tourism businesses i.e. hotels and restaurants.

- Rhon Biosphere has developed its own brand/quality seal called ‘Dachmarke Rhon’. The objective of this is to: o Help distinguish premium products from the region o Promote sustainable business models o Preserve the cultural landscape of the Rhon Biosphere Reserve o Optimise regional value add chains i.e. Production Processing Marketing o Secure jobs and keep people and expertise in the region

- To use this brand producers must also meet strict industry-specific criteria for regionality, special quality and sound environmental management. - Criteria for each product that they produce has been published to demonstrate a credible regional provenance. e.g. for bakery items, the bakeries must use flour that comes 100% from the region and is GMO and preservative free and made exclusively from natural sourdough, yeast or baking ferments.

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- Similar detailed criteria are published for a huge range of produce i.e. meat, fish and dairy - New criteria is being developed for accommodation/activity focussed businesses and covering service, fixtures/furnishings etc - Quality Assurance checks are undertaken o Currently this is paper based evidence however, plan is to undertake a programme of annual spot-checks

Quality seal with silver thistles

- The silver thistle is a voluntary additional certification for hospitality businesses i.e Restaurants and Hotels and recognises the increased use of regional produce in the kitchen and cellar as well as offering typical regional dishes. - 1* - 35% 2* - 45% 3* - 65% of produce on the menu to be sourced from within the 5 regions that comprise the Biosphere. - Businesses are encouraged to display a ‘Provenance Statement’ and an example was seen in our accommodation

Funding Model - Budget for Dachmarke approx. 200k per annum (split 40k from fees and 160k from local gov sources) - Membership fee (30 EUROS pa) - Brand User fee is payable based on the number of employees the business has and operates on a sliding scale. - Cash Grants from Regional Govt’s - Subsidies from the EU

Brand Awareness

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- Produce bearing the quality seal is trusted significantly by consumers, particularly in larger cities such as Frankfurt where it is in much demand o ‘Made in the EU’ means nothing to consumers – they ‘Trust’ the Dachmarke - Producers also view significant business value in participation o Even large businesses i.e. Rhon Sprudel (Spring Water), successfully use the provenance of the biosphere as their USP

- Restaurant and Producer guide is produced (in paper) focussing on members who achieve the quality mark - Local/regional supermarkets have clear promotion of these regional products. - Each village in the Biosphere has a clear ‘Brown’ sign on entering to highlight it is in the Biosphere

Business Specific Feedback:

Papillon Paragliding & Hotel - Operating a business in the Biosphere has both positive and negative facets: o + :people will visit just because it is in the Biosphere o - :can be harder to do things due to controls on planning

EDEKA Supermarket

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- 40,000 different products of which 500 are Regional - 70% of branded Biosphere produce is sold to visitors both in the shops and at farmers markets in the larger cities i.e. Frankfurt - Having dedicated stand in the supermarket has increased sales by 25%

- Ethos is not all about ‘Profit’ – owner believes in products benefitting the families and communities - Some products don’t meet legislative requirements to be sold in shops and are therefore sold on the business premises.

Rhon Sprudel – Water Bottling Plant (300m bottles a year) - Owns significant areas of land along with the springs where the water I extracted o Land is leased back to farmers at no cost on the condition that they do not use fertilisers and pesticides - Vast majority of bottles used are glass and are recycled up to 80 times each. - Work with other water bottling companies to use the same design/size of bottles which will then fit the machinery in all factories and can recycle each other’s bottles - Biosphere is clearly promoted on lorries and at the door of the factory

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Pax-Braeu Brewery - Malt/Barley all produced within the Biosphere (80% of hops) - No export – all domestic consumption - Dachmarche significantly helps with authentication of product

Drink Producer (Wine & Sherry) - People pay for quality and provenance - Apples/pears: 1/3 sourced from own orchard; 2/3 from within 20km of Biosphere o 200 trees – 180 varieties, many traditional varieties

Farm - Clear diversification; meat/food/drink plus restaurant plus a variety of animals for tourists to see - Visitors are interested in where the food is coming from and how the animals are cared for - Guests are happy to pay a premium for quality

Food Producer/Bakery/Glamping - Aims to make the most of local produce rather than bringing in from other areas with the impact on sustainability - must be high quality - Important to work collaboratively and fairly with other businesses - Operates bakery to show traditional methods of manufacture - Recent diversification into Glamping demonstrates innovation in business model o Ethos is to be innovative in order to attract more businesses o Get an idea and ‘get on with it’ o Some funding available from LEADER and Regional Gov’t - Regional Gov’t looks at reasons to do something rather than reasons NOT to do it

Overall Observations/Comments - Some significant similarities between Rhon and SA&DG Biospheres including social issues; business maturity; geography; Dark Sky Park; recreational activities - Branding of produce using the Dachmarke has significant benefit - Major focus given to producers of food and drink

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

- Now looking at encouraging wider tourism businesses - Critically the funding model provides sufficient resources to operate both the Biosphere reserve and the Quality Brand - Up until very recently, all Biosphere’s were not allowed to use ‘UNESCO’ labelling for marketing purposes o Rules now changed so can promote produce as ‘grown/produced in UNESCO Biosphere Area’ and this may have a further positive impact. Note: UNESCO logo is not allowed. - Rhon ‘Thistle Awards’ are similar to Taste our Best however have a much more defined ‘local’ context/criteria rather than ‘national’. - Businesses are very domestic sales focussed and produce must be of a high quality - Visitors clearly prepared to pay a premium for quality and provenance – 70% of Biosphere produce purchased by visitors - Producers clearly focussed on sustainability issues and go to some lengths to address i.e. use of salt from the Dead Sea as this has less microplastics - Large local businesses are encouraged to set the example and encourage others to participate - Businesses focus on product ‘Innovation, Quality, Provenance and Sustainability’ - Regional Council demonstrate positivity and support, considering applications on ‘reasons to do it’ rather than ‘reasons not to do it’ - Ethos is not all about ‘Profit’ – owner believes in products benefitting the families and communities

Further Reference: More information on the Rhon Biosphere is available here Rhon Biosphere https://biosphaerenreservat-rhoen.de/ Dachemark Rhon https://dmr.marktplatzrhoen.de/ Rhon info http://www.rhoen.info/dachmarke

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 Biosphere Good for Business – Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey Presentation by Participants

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015

Rhon Biosphere Learning Journey Feedback November 2019

Background With funding secured through D&G LEADER five local stakeholders from the Biosphere joined officers on a learning journey to the Rhön Biosphere in Germany at the end of November. Due to the funding all the stakeholders had to be from D&G and included Nithbank Country Estate, Galloway Flowers, Galloway Cycle Holidays, Heart of Galloway information centre and the local business engagement officer from Visit Scotland. The Rhön biosphere was designated in 1991 and is situated in the lower mountain ranges of central Germany straddling the former East / West German border. Its just over an hour away from the industrial centre of Frankfurt and is surrounded by a number smaller cities. At just over 1800 sq km the Rhön is known as the ’land of open vistas’. An open cultural landscape shaped by human use for many centuries it consists of rolling hills, woodlands and farmland. Naturally, the region would have been covered by beech forest however extensive agriculture and dairy farming has transformed much of the old forests into grasslands. Today the landscapes are noted for their rich ecological diversity which are the result of a long period of environmentally sustainable agriculture. It has a population of almost 200,000 and in 2014 it was named as the 9th International Dark Sky Park – they copied us here in Galloway! The similarities to GSAB do not stop there, it also overlaps with three Federal states Thuringia, Hesse and Bavaria, has social issues linked to the outward migration of young people, particularly from the former East German areas with associated issues re employment, and a historic lack of infrastructure due to having been perceived as being at the edge of the former West Germany. However, its position as a former border region has also resulted in areas of old woodland that have been left to nature, and agricultural land that until recently had not been heavily improved with associated biodiversity benefits. Key species they are involved in conserving include Black Grouse and Red Kites. Their funding resource structure is significantly different from ourselves. Each federal state funds and supports its own Biosphere team. So Hesse where we were hosted has three Biosphere officers who lead on the ‘technical work’ and six Biosphere rangers who do the ‘education and outreach work’. They also have an operating budget of approx. €0.5M/year. This is then duplicated to a greater or lesser extent in the other two neighbouring federal states. Each area also runs its own projects so Hesse currently has a five year multi million euro LIFE project focused on grassland management, but it only operates within that federal state. The other states run their own projects. The three lead Biosphere Coordinators meet monthly to ensure their individual actions are all still working towards a shared strategic plan for the whole of the Biosphere.

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Dachmarke Rhön Dachmarke Rhön (Umbrella Brand Rhön) covers 5 administration boundaries with the Biosphere at its core. It exceeds the size of the Biosphere as it sees the adjoining regions as being part of its target market. It was developed in 2007 (through a LEADER funded project) as a mean of providing a unified approach to marketing products and services to both the local population and tourists. Because Biospheres in Germany are funded and supported through the public sector, the DMR was set up as an arm’s length organisation directly aligned to the principles of the Biosphere. This enabled a Board to be formed comprising local businesses and the local administrations all of which is over seen by the Biosphere and local government officials. As with GSAB they have a two tier membership structure one which is focused on the “region” and another which is a “quality mark”. They have a membership of 300 Partners of whom approx. 200 are ‘producers’, 70 are ‘gastronomy’. This includes 80 organic farms who support 38 butchers. Approximately 50 of the partners are very active and work closely with the Dachmarke Rhön team developing new activities to further awareness of the brand. The gastronomy businesses are awarded a star rating (1-3) depending on the percentage of local produce contained within their menus 35%, 45% or 65%. Primarily developed around food and drink which can demonstrate organic and sustainable origins they have just started looking at the opportunities to bring together food and tourism in the last couple of years. They are doing this with a new ‘mark’. Like GSAB there is pressure for intensification of dairy farming and the production of cheap regional meat which doesn’t have ‘sustainable’ origins. Whilst there isn’t a history of cheese production in the region they have recently started a mobile creamery which has created opportunities for artisan cheese making. Tourism in the region is down to individual federal states, with only international marketing provided through Visit Germany. They have actively embraced the Dark Sky Park designation with 80 trained guides engaging with 3000+ people a year on low cost €5-€8 events. Most visitors are German.

Business Visits At 950m Wasserkuppe is the highest mountain in the Biosphere, it has a long history in being a centre initially for hang gliding and more recently for para gliding due to the 360 degree open aspects that means which ever direction the wind comes from its ‘clean’ and with minimal turbulence. This has led to the development of a centre for para gliding that sells and maintains equipment, as well as instructing both days visitors and

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The Southern Uplands Partnerships Report on 2015 weeklong courses. With 140 staff it operates both winter and summer, and also has bases in Italy and Austria. This has led to development of mountain bike hire, a restaurant that excels in local produce and the development of 14 high quality accommodation buildings sleeping between 4-8 people each. Alongside them on the mountain top is a small ski area that in winter provides downhill and cross country skiing and in summer has tree top rope courses and summer toboggan runs. The owner of this business designs and sells the toboggan runs all around the world. With the Wasserkuppe information-centre and a small regional shop these facilities make the mountain one of the key tourism attractions in the area attracting around 1M visitors a year. Whilst it is considered ‘off the beaten track’ it is fairly central in Germany and so is seen as a useful meeting point for families and friends coming from other parts of Germany. Dachmarkenregal Edeka (Rehm) in Gersfeld was a local supermarket chain that had embraced sales of the Dachmarke Rhön produce. Selling 500 Biosphere branded regional products they were actively wanting to support local businesses. They highlighted one of their challenges as being unable to secure a reliable supply of local meat due to limited supplies of branded stock, and local butchers also wanting to sell the produce. They did highlight that 70% of purchases were by tourists and only 30% local people. They had actively created new display areas for local produce in the centre of the store so that shoppers had to walk past it which helped create additional custom. Gersfeld the town they were located in was a tourist hotspot with a significant number of tourist beds available.

Rhönsprudel is a mineral water bottling plant that has 20 wells from which it sources its water. They own the land around each well to ensure that no contaminants pollute the water and have a very close relationship with the Biosphere. Not only do all their bottles and lorries highlight that the water comes from the Biosphere but they also put on an annual Spring Festival with music, entertainment and Biosphere led activities that attracts 10,000 people. As a company they have reduced disposable plastic bottles to less than 20% of their production and have agreement across Germany with other mineral water companies that all glass bottles are the same design meaning they can all recycle any bottle within their bottling plants meaning each one gets used around 80 times. Interestingly even though Rhönsprudel are a strong supporter of the Biosphere they didn’t use the Dachmarke preferring to make reference to the Biosphere within the labelling as the source of their water, which they clearly see as setting them apart from competitors. Pax-Bräu is a local micro brewery that has been created in old cow sheds in the middle of a small village. Employing just 2 people (another 6 or 7 when bottling) they create 23 different varieties of beer using organic malt/hops and foraging or purchasing from local suppliers for local flavourings to add to the beer. With the beer only sold in the Rhön Biosphere they have a strong local following of shops, restaurants and sales direct

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 from the brewery. They linked in with the local community by offering free beer in exchange to volunteers helping them forage key produce for the beer at different times of the year. Hotel Krenzers Rhön was the accommodation where we stayed. It was themed around the famous Rhön sheep of central Germany with rooms individually designed to represent key features. So some beds were designed as shepherds huts, others as barns, some had imitation grass on the walls etc. Apples were also a major part of the theme again with bedrooms designed around this. As well as specialising in meals that were based around local produce they also had a side line in apples produce. They grew over 180 different varieties themselves, and collected in other apples from local farmers that were then pressed and used to make apple wine, apple juice etc. They also produced their own apple sherry that after being distilled was aged in Scottish single malt barrels. Whilst the owner was a very active supporter of the Dachmarke brand involved in many of their committees he didn’t use it on his own drink produce as he was particular about how he presented is labelling and felt it detracted. He did however have it on his restaurant, hotel and marketing. Weckbach was a small farm that maintained herds of traditional beef cattle and Rhön sheep that were used across the biosphere for conservation grazing of the grasslands. The farmer didn’t own more than a few hectares of land but had diversified into a ‘petting farm’ which was popular with families and also a small restaurant and shop where he sold his own produce. As a local ‘character’ he was an attractions himself with or without the local produce and animals! His focus was very much one of quality not quantity – something that was repeated by most of the businesses we met. Biohof Gensler was an organic farm shop first established in 1999 that had a very strong ethos behind it of only supporting local businesses who came up to his own organic standards and principals of ‘fairness and respect’ for each other and the local environment. Such was his reputation that he was an annual stop for Korean student visits to Europe that were studying supply chains and local produce. With German sausage and bread he had both a local and visitor following. He’d also diversified into corporate and family parties with activities based around baking cakes etc. Latterly he’d also started on accommodation with wigwams available to stay in, food offered through the farm shop café etc. He felt the Biosphere model fitted his own personal principals in life and so was a strong supporter, feeling it could add real value to the region. His sausage were branded ‘Bios-fair’ a play on words linked to both the Biosphere and ‘fairness’. For his business diversification he had expressly avoided EU funding as he felt it wasn’t adaptable enough to the innovation rural businesses need to show with plans evolving continually as the business develops.

Summary

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The businesses we were introduced to were obviously those most positive about the Dachmarke brand and Biosphere ethos and it is aligned with their own principals. Whilst it had been originally conceived as quality mark for the produce, it was increasingly being seen by businesses also as a sign of their commitment to the region, to other local businesses, to the community and to surrounding ‘landscape’. It was noted that villages had signs at their entrances acknowledging they were in a UNESCO Biosphere. It was very visible with all of the business visited, who were actively promoting the Biosphere brand on their produce, or in words on their own labels, in their marketing literature or through plaques at the entrance to their premises. It was an identity they were both proud off and keen to share with others. Whilst the primary market appeared to be tourism both for the food and drink and for the accommodation and activities, the Dachmarke Rhön did also hold an appeal for more affluent or perhaps discerning local often urban shoppers who were prepared to pay a premium for such products. So farmer’s markets in the surrounding cities were keen to sell local produce, as were supermarkets or farm shops in tourist hot spots within the Biosphere, but local people who tended to be on low incomes were generally looking for cheap and more affordable food. With an operating budget of €200k/year the Dachmarke Rhön brings in approx. €40k/year from business fees (based on the number of employees). Due in part to its very close associations with the local regional administration they make up the balance of the operating costs seeing this as also supporting a local economy based on tourism, farming, small scale producers etc. This close association with the local administration also extended to the Biosphere opinion being actively sought as part of the decision making process for developments and changes taking place in the region.

Conclusions There are lots of similarities between the two Biospheres both socially, environmentally and economically. Perhaps the most glaring difference is that they have been in existence significantly longer that GSAB (20+ years) and as part of the local administration are significantly better resourced and more firmly embedded with the local policy and decision makers. That said GSAB has achieved a huge amount in a very short space of time. We have 150+ Proud Supporter Businesses and we have 16 Certified Business with another 6 going through the process. That means we are already half way to their 300 Business Partners and 50 active Business Partners in only four years compared to the 20+ years it took them. Our approach to a broader range of sectors such as accommodation, activity providers, primary and secondary producers, arts and crafts has perhaps given us a more ‘joined up’ approach from the outset and has opened the door to our packaging of Biosphere experiences, something the Rhön are only just beginning to explore. However, their longstanding push on regional produce and the links between that with ‘quality assurance’ has suited the Biosphere approach much more so than the food and drink industry here which has focused primarily on ‘Made in Scotland’. Access to infrastructure such as local slaughter houses and the mobile creamery have also offered easily accessible ways for rural businesses to add value to their products. With a

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The Southern Uplands Partnership Report on 2015 relatively accessible urban population and significant tourism industry this has given them a much firmer foundation on which to build the Dachmarke Rhön brand and identity.

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