The conservation of nature is taken seriously in Germany, especially in designated conservation areas. In addition to large nature parks, there are also many smaller protected nature areas. They guard against human activity by protecting wild animals, rare plants, and unique landscapes. The protected areas are represented on signs by two animals: the white-tailed eagle and the long-eared owl. Signs with information and rules of conduct are common. You should not, for example, walk off the path. It's no surprise that the forest ranger is upset about our time travelers.

Over 8,500 nature reserves cover an area of about 1.3 million hectares – slightly less than 4% of Germany. The oldest is the Lüneburg Heath. The types of landscapes found there – heath, moor and forest – are typical of northern Germany. Sheep and wild horses maintain the heath landscape, which happens to be the largest in Western Europe. The heath would be overgrown if not for the grazing. The rare moor lily blooms in brilliant yellow in the summer. In 2011, it was named Flower of the Year in Germany and has been classified as an endangered plant.