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Rock and gravel gardens will soon be banned in the canton of Solothurn. The cantonal parliament spoke in favor of this last Tuesday. Not everyone in the SRF community understands this decision.
“The creation of rock and gravel gardens that are not considered eligible green areas is prohibited,” says the new version of the cantonal building regulations of the canton of Solothurn. The ban is intended to contribute to climate protection, biodiversity and temperature regulation and caused a lot of discussion in the SRF community on Friday.
I dread a society that no longer distinguishes between what is public and what is private. From the perspective of liberalism, a nightmare…
The ban, which was passed in the canton of Solothurn, is not only met with understanding. The SRF community is particularly concerned about the question of how far politics can intervene in privacy. Christoph Steiger says, “I am horrified by a society that no longer distinguishes between what is public and what is private. From the point of view of liberalism, a nightmare …». User Peter Meier sees the ban as nonsensical because “the state has other concerns than those of rock gardens.” Martin Christen from the SRF community is also critical of the ban and sees “the massive deforestation that takes place every year throughout Switzerland” as a more significant problem in the climate crisis.
“Good this way!” – Protect the climate, ban gravel
However, the majority in the comments support the ban and agree with the climate protection argument, which is also advocated by the Solothurn government.
Good this way! A gravel desert like this heats up enormously in summer, blinds the eyes and offers pollinators absolutely nothing.
Concern about declining biodiversity and global warming, which goes hand in hand with rock and gravel gardens, is largely present in the discussion. SRF user Angela B. Nussbaumer comments, “Such a gravel desert heats up enormously in summer, blinds the eyes and offers pollinators absolutely nothing.”
User Bruno Hochuli particularly finds the heating of these gardens a problem for the increasingly hot summers in Switzerland: “With dense construction, we are happy with every degree less in the summer.” Simona Schwarz from the community is therefore calling for a “Switzerland-wide ban”. The area of gravel gardens increased by 21 percent across Switzerland between 2018 and 2021.
Legend:
A gravel garden with plants.
imago images / Frank Hoermann
Gravel gardens as a “fad”
According to the voices of the community, this “fad” is due to ignorance. User Anita Rusterholz calls for “more training in biodiversity”. Monika Hug from the SRF community says: “The understanding and knowledge of nature and natural habitats seems really deformed.” Some users accuse garden owners of being too lazy to maintain their green spaces. The fact that a ban would have to be imposed is worrying, says user Roland Kunz.
“Nobody is a fan of bans”
It seems questionable whether a ban is really the only solution to global warming. At least it is a step towards the protection of biodiversity and the performance of the ecosystem – says user Jan Schweizer: “Nobody is a fan of bans. As long as common sense doesn’t work, certain bans will be necessary.”