The <link https: www.frankfurt-tipp.de ffm-aktuell s ugc apfelweinfestival-2018-frankfurt-feiert-zum-achten-mal-das-gold-zum-trinken.html _blank>Cider Festival not only offers local press houses the opportunity to present their ciders and juices. The popular festival also provides the perfect backdrop for an awards ceremony, which was held this year for what is now the sixth time: The Golden Apple Awards. This prize is awarded to individuals or groups who have rendered outstanding services to the apple and the local orchard meadows - after all, the orchard meadows belong to Hessen like Goethe or the Eintracht to Frankfurt. Those who stand up for their protection should also be rewarded. The award is endowed with a prize money of 1000 € which should ideally be reinvested in the protection of orchards.
That this year's award winner has not yet received a Golden Apple, surprised City Councilor Rosemarie Heilig, who spoke the laudation at the award ceremony. After all, she said, the prize was created precisely for people like him. The speech is about Heiko Fischer from Kronberg. Since his childhood, the chairman of the Kronberg Fruit and Horticulture Association has been closely associated with nature conservation and orchards. The expert for the Speierling tree has not only ensured that the popular apple market in Kronberg could be saved from discontinuation or that numerous old apple varieties continue to exist. He has also created the Erlebnisobstwiese, the Pfarrer-Christ-Wiese and the Jubiläumsobstwiese in Kronberg on the Apfelwein- und Obstwiesenroute and on the Regionalparkroute Nidda-Opel-Zoo. These and other achievements around the preservation and care of orchard meadows were the reason why the jury agreed on the winner this year as never before. And this despite the fact that the number of applications has steadily increased in recent years.
The Golden Apple is awarded by the Association of Hessian Cider and Fruit Juice Presses together with the Nature Conservation Academy Hessen and the marketing company Gutes aus Hessen. The aim is to draw attention to a topic that needs much more attention despite many committed people. Because more and more orchards are disappearing due to development or are suffering from the fact that many trees are aging and collapsing under the weight of apples or due to enormous heat. Since meadow orchards provide a habitat for more than 5000 animal and plant species and shape large parts of our landscape, their protection must be given high priority. Especially from this point of view, Councillor Heilig is deeply impressed by people like Heiko Fischer.
An opinion that is also shared by Martin Heil, chairman of the Association of Hessian Cider and Fruit Juice Presses e.V.: "I rarely meet people who are committed to our Hessian cultural landscape with so much heart and soul and who promote such diverse actions as Heiko Fischer", said Heil about the award winner, who of course came to the award ceremony quite appropriately in an apple shirt. With him, someone was honored who lives sustainability. And that is exactly what is enormously important for our local orchards. Martin Heil also emphasizes this once again: "We call on everyone to process as many local orchard apples as possible into apple juice and cider. Those who harvest their apples at the right time and bring them to the press house make an important contribution to the preservation of the meadow orchard", says Heil. And how good that can taste, you can see for yourself at the <link https: www.frankfurt-tipp.de ffm-aktuell s ugc apfelweinfestival-2018-frankfurt-feiert-zum-achten-mal-das-gold-zum-trinken.html _blank>Apple Cider Festival until August 19
