On a contiguous forest area of almost 40 hectares, the forest is now allowed to grow as it wishes. Nature now takes over how, when and to what extent an intervention in the forest takes place - through natural ageing and dying, felling due to storms or other events that can cause a tree to die. The city has thus set an example for other cities and municipalities. One can only hope that other municipalities with forest ownership will follow suit and create a place for nature to develop completely naturally in their forests. What the scientists have discovered over the last nine years in the "Einbecker Märchenwald and surrounding area" about beetles, plants, mosses, lichens, birds and fungi with their expertise is almost indescribable. And the numbers are growing year on year. The scientific studies were financed almost exclusively through sponsorship. Main sponsor Greenpeace and other nature conservation organisations as well as companies such as KWS and Allianz Einbeck were involved in the project. This year, Greenpeace is again financing the study of the butterfly fauna in the vicinity of the fairytale forest and KWS is funding the maintenance and updating of the website for a further three years. The co-signatories of the extension application Prof Helge Walentowski (HAWK Forst Göttingen), Claudia Voigt, Greenpeace and BUND consider the extension to be very pleasing. To summarise, a few names are mentioned who are scientifically behind the many results. Stefan Kaufmann, Hartwig Ehlert, Dr. Gunnar Waesch, Markus Preußing and Helga Bültmann are responsible for lichens and mosses. Ludger Schmidt and Dr. Reiner Theunert are responsible for the beetle records. Dr. R. Theunert has taken care of the butterfly records for many years. Hartwig Ehlert was the main player when it came to fungi. Birds were recorded by Bärbel Pott-Dörfer and the woodpeckers were looked after by Dr. Hermann Hondong. The diploma, master's and bachelor's theses were supervised by the HAWK Göttingen. The participants contributed to the research of the fairytale forest and its surroundings. This was the only way to achieve results that provided a sound basis for the designation of protected areas. Individual species lighthouses still shine today as the results of painstaking work. And the website, which is maintained by Philipp Küchler, is accessed by many visitors and also serves as a treasure trove of rare species for scientists.