Solar fences and electric excavators – “GaLaBau” trade fair sets trends

Watering heat-stricken city trees with rainwater is possible with intelligent rainwater management. The water flows into an underground gutter at the side of the road, for example, where it is filtered and then directed to the trees. Combined with a storage system, the trees can be watered exactly when they urgently need water. This saves fresh water and also the time of the city workers who would normally do this.

This is one of the many innovations that around 1,000 exhibitors are presenting at this year’s leading international trade fair for the gardening and landscaping industry – “GaLaBau” for short. Until next Saturday, the exhibition center in Nuremberg will be transformed into the central meeting place for the green industry. The event attracts gardening and landscaping companies as well as representatives from municipalities and landscape architects from all over Europe. The exhibitors also come from the region.

A stone that cools the environment

One Upper Palatinate invention, for example, is a so-called climate paving stone. This also filters rainwater and the pollutants that come from the street. When it is warm, it releases the water through evaporation and thus cools the environment.

An invention from Middle Franconia is a gravel system for wild bees, bumblebees and butterflies, with stones from the Weissenburg quarry. They were based on the lean grass meadows of the Altmühl Valley. It is a natural rock garden that does not require weed control fabric or microplastics, it is said. During heavy rain events, it can store water and is therefore valuable for insects and plants.

The trend is towards insect-friendly gardens

Sustainability, environmental protection and solutions for dealing with climate change are the dominant themes among the exhibitors at the Nuremberg trade fair. The president of the Federal Association of Garden and Landscape Gardeners, Thomas Banzhaf, knows: “The trend is towards making gardens green again, making them colorful again, making them sustainable. And creating interesting and pleasant habitats for insects and people.”

Anyone who wants to supply their garden with their own electricity can rely on a fence with photovoltaic elements. The inventors have worked on the fact that the modules are not facing the sun as is usual. With the help of a prism glass, the sunlight is refracted at the angle at which it should hit the PV cells. All cables are hidden in the fence supports. The solar fence runs as a balcony power plant and therefore does not require any additional official approval.

Electric excavators make construction sites quieter

The trend towards using electricity is also affecting the gardening industry. E-mobility is gaining ground in heavy construction machinery. Fully electric mini excavators and wheel loaders ensure significantly less noise on construction sites. But the industry is booming: Garden and landscape gardeners are satisfied with a turnover of over ten billion euros in Germany last year.

The leading international trade fair claims to be the only trade fair of its kind in the world. According to the Federal Association of Garden, Landscape and Sports Field Construction, the industry generated total sales of 10.34 billion euros in Germany in 2023, three percent more than in the previous year.