Student Initiatives

Alnus e.V. Eberswalde

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Landschaftspflege, Naturschutz, Umweltbildung und Stadtökologie (Working Group for Landscape Conservation, Nature Protection, Environmental Education and Urban Ecology; Alnus e.V.) offers hands-on activities, events, and excursions across Eberswalde. We’re well connected with a range of local stakeholders, and our projects give you the chance to put your university knowledge into practice. We run community gardens with environmental education programmes in both the city centre and the Brandenburgisches Viertel. Interested in getting involved? We’d love to hear from you – just send us an email!

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturgemäße Waldwirtschaft (ANW) – University Group

Working Group for Nature-Based Forest Management

We serve as a link between academic study and forestry practice by organising regular excursions and events focused on “nature-based forest management”. Our network connects young people across industries, as well as across state and national borders – creating exciting opportunities for professional development.
But above all, it’s just great fun to experience the outdoors and do things together!

If you would like to get involved, feel free to contact us at anw@hnee.de.

Junge Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (jAbL)

Young Farmers’ Working Group

The Junge Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (jAbL) brings together young people from agricultural and farming backgrounds who organise themselves to oppose the capitalist destruction of our livelihoods and to promote a just, diverse, and sustainable agriculture. We are an independent part of the global small farmers’ movement, La Via Campesina, and its German member organisation, AbL.

In the Eberswalde local group, people from various degree programmes, bakers, and practitioners meet every two weeks for a plenary session at the Thinkfarm. These meetings provide opportunities to network and plan activities and events both at the university and in the surrounding community. We aim to share our own experiences in agriculture, critically engage with the content of our studies, and educate ourselves and others. For us, as co-creators of a sustainable agricultural and food system, sustainable education also means exploring food sovereignty, agroecology, queer-feminist, and (neo-)colonial perspectives on agriculture.

If you would like to get involved in agricultural policy issues and become active, please join us at our next meeting or email us at junge-AbL(at)hnee.de.

Campus Garden

Food connects us – but in our globalised world, that knowledge is often lost. With the Campus Garden, we have created a vibrant space at HNEE where students, staff, and lecturers can garden, learn, and enjoy together.

Since the first beds were planted in spring 2014, the initiative has grown steadily and is now a well-established part of campus life. Inspired by urban gardening, we promote sustainable, creative, and self-determined action.

Our principles:

Open to all - everyone is welcome!
Sustainable gardening - permaculture and closed cycles
Community & trust - non-hierarchical, respectful collaboration
Learning & self-empowerment - more than just studying

Whether wild herb meadows, raised beds, or fragrant herb spirals – the Campus Garden invites you to get involved. Come along and grow with us!

foodsharing Eberswalde

We are a lively group of over 100 active members who rescue food from the bin every day in Eberswalde. Our motto: “Share instead of throw away!” We waste nothing — rescued food is used privately or shared via our Fairteiler (a community food-sharing fridge) on the HNE city campus. Feel free to drop by!

In addition to around 1,200 collections a year from 14 local businesses, we take part in many events, run an Instagram channel, and meet every six weeks for a plenary session. Since March 2023, we are proud to announce that Eberswalde is now a foodsharing city! Together with the city council, we are developing exciting projects and events. Join our mission, and let’s make Eberswalde sustainable and delicious together!

Fridays for Future Eberswalde

We are a local chapter of Fridays for Future and organise a variety of events to keep the issues of climate protection, climate justice, and climate change in the public consciousness. Our message is clear:
"Doing nothing is not an option when it comes to creating a liveable future!"

Join us!

We meet once a week. For more information, feel free to contact us at f4f[at]nee.de.

GeLa Eberswalde

Since 2011, the GeLa group in Eberswalde has been connecting consumers and producers through the model of →  Solidarischen Landwirtschaft (Community Supported Agriculture). Together, we support responsible, small-scale farming – with fresh vegetables from → Gärtnerhof Staudenmüller and dairy products from → Hof Schwalbennest.

Deliveries take place every Tuesday, and collection is available from Tuesday at 8:00 pm until Friday at 1:00 pm at the HNEE city campus. Trial months are offered at the beginning of each semester, and if there is available capacity, you can also join later on.

University SMD

Great to have you here!

We are an interdenominational Christian university group – a vibrant mix of students and non-students. We meet once a week in Eberswalde to talk about whatever is on our hearts when it comes to faith.

What unites us is a desire for community, honest conversation, and living out our faith. No matter your background or what you believe — we’d love to meet you!

Come and join us: Every Tuesday 18:00 to 20:00, in the rooms of the Baptist Church Eberswalde (Goethestraße 23)

Contact: smd[at]hnee.de

Hochschulsport e.V.

The Förderverein Hochschulsport e.V. (University Sports Association) was founded in 2001 with the aim of expanding the sports opportunities available in Eberswalde and offering an affordable way for students and staff to stay active and fit.

The range of sports available at the university is compact and easy to navigate — and for good reason: HNEE is one of the smallest universities in Germany. Fewer students also means fewer participants, which can make it difficult to organise more niche or specialised sports due to limited group sizes. Another challenge is the limited number of sports facilities in Eberswalde.

Many sports, such as karate or tai chi, also require qualified instructors. If someone is willing to lead a course just for the joy of it, we usually manage to find a suitable space.

Horizonte e.V.

Intercultural Exchange in Eberswalde

The Horizonte e.V. association was founded on 22 September 2000 by students and lecturers at HNE Eberswalde. Its goal is to create a platform for intercultural exchange between local residents and students in Eberswalde. One of the association’s core aims is to actively involve foreign students in student life. This is done through a variety of activities such as excursions in and around the region, themed parties, intercultural education projects in schools, and much more. German members of Horizonte are often happy to support foreign students with questions about studying or everyday life in Eberswalde — offering advice (and sometimes even a bike!) — and helping to ensure their time here is memorable and enjoyable.

IFSA Eberswalde

IFSA (International Forestry Students' Association) is a student-led organisation that connects forestry students around the world. While we’re active locally here in Eberswalde, we’re also part of a global network and regularly engage in exchange with students from across the globe. We organise talks on exciting extracurricular topics, host barbecues, and meet regularly to share ideas and experiences. Interested in joining us? Send us an email at ifsa(at)hnee.de – we’d love to hear from you!

Jagdtreff (Student Hunting Initiative)

We are Jagdtreff, a student-led initiative where you can meet fellow students and Eberswalde locals who enjoy hunting or are simply interested in the topic.

We also serve as a contact point for hunting opportunities. Information about group hunts and driven hunts is shared through our mailing list.

We meet once a month to exchange ideas on hunting-related topics and take part in various activities together — from attending expert talks and going on excursions to preparing game dishes as a group.

Come along to our next meeting — even if you don’t have a hunting licence — we’d love to meet you!

Schmatzkammer e.V.

We at Schmatzkammer are creating a place where people can come together — to talk, share ideas, and make things happen. Here, individual creativity and the courage to put it into practice are actively encouraged. 
Our spaces are open to everyone. They include a large kitchen where a “kitchen for all” is held every two weeks, a workshop where all kinds of crafting, sewing, and screen printing can take place, as well as a photo lab and a flexible workshop room. Do you want to help shape open creative spaces in our city, or are you simply looking for a place to bring your own projects to life? Then get in touch with us — we’d love to hear from you!