The old farmstead in the Havelauen nature reserve has been used by the University of Potsdam as a teaching and research station since 1975. It was renovated in 1990 and offers workshops, laboratories, seminar rooms, and overnight accommodation. Situated in the floodplain of the Havel river, the station is ideally suited as basis for research on dynamic landscapes. In addition to applied research in nature conservation, the station offers extensive experimental areas, e.g. for researching the influence of light pollution or movement ecology of small mammals using automated telemetry systems. Furthermore, the station plays a central role in the ecological education of the University of Potsdam. Especially students of the master program Ecology, Evolution and Conservation use the station for seminars where ecological concepts are taught and directly tested on the example of current scientific questions by using modern research methods.
