NaturGut Ophoven

Name

NaturGut Ophoven

Legal name

Förderverein NaturGut Ophoven e.V.

Website

https://naturgut-ophoven.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Education Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education) (THAAAOAJ), Educational & Edutainment Parks (Science/Discovery/Children’s Parks) (THAJAEAG), Nature-Based / Forest School Early Learning Programs (EDACADAD)

Keywords

• Environmental education
• Nature school programs
• Children's museum
• Sustainability workshops
• Climate education

Headquarters

HQ city

Leverkusen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Course and Event Fees: Revenue from ticketed educational programs, holiday camps, workshops, and museum admissions. Prices range from €3–€10 per child/adult for individual activities, to €120 per child for full-week holiday programs including lunch. Course bookings are made through the Recras online system or by phone/email.
2. Shop / Product Sales: Sale of published educational materials, books, puzzles, memory games, wildflower seed mixes, handmade bee houses, and the Peace Flag. Products shipped via invoice; discounts available for bulk orders.
3. Membership Dues: Annual membership in the Förderverein NaturGut Ophoven e.V. Members receive free program mailings, invitations to New Year's reception and exclusive events, and a complimentary course participation.
4. Donations and Grants: Tax-deductible donations from individuals and companies, plus funding from foundations such as Stiftung Umwelt und Entwicklung Nordrhein-Westfalen (for the GlücksBande project), NABU-Stiftung (ProNKids endowment), and the city of Leverkusen for the energieLux climate protection project.
5. energieLux Project Funding: City of Leverkusen has financed the energieLux climate protection project at Leverkusen schools and Kitas for over ten years, covering pedagogical measures and energy conservation programs.
6. Corporate Social Days: Companies (e.g., Mercedes, Ford, SKF, abcfinance) pay for or sponsor team volunteer days on the grounds, combining corporate social responsibility with practical grounds maintenance support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NaturGut Ophoven operates a non-profit environmental education centre comprising the MutReiferei children's museum and over six hectares of outdoor nature grounds, delivering curriculum-aligned programs for Kitas, primary schools and secondary schools, plus family workshops, holiday camps, children's birthday parties, the energieLux climate project, and educator continuing-education courses. Revenue is generated from course and event fees, an on-site and online shop selling educational publications, donations, public grants, and annual membership dues.

Product overview

NaturGut Ophoven operates as an environmental education center run by the Förderverein NaturGut Ophoven e.V. (registered association). The core offering consists of the MutReiferei children's museum featuring interactive exhibits like KopfMut, OhrMut, and Klimawaage, combined with outdoor nature programs on over 6 hectares of grounds. The organization provides structured educational programs across multiple channels: kindergarten courses, primary school programs, secondary school offerings, vacation camps (Ferienprogramm), children's birthday parties, and adult continuing education (Fortbildungen). Supplementary products include the Die GlücksBande book series with activity books and memory games, practice handbooks on climate and energy topics, and educational materials like wildflower seeds and wild bee nesting aids. The shop also offers an escape room game and peace flag. Project-based work includes energieLux (free courses for Leverkusen schools), BeeBike, BioBrotBox, BNE-Aktionstage, and the BNE-Regionalzentrum. The center operates two locations: Stauffenbergstraße 17 (office and MutReiferei museum) and Talstraße 62 (outdoor grounds and courses).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MutReiferei children's museum

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 26,000 Klimameilen (Climate Miles) collected by 16 Leverkusen schools and Kitas in 2025, sent to UN Climate Conference in Belém
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NABU LeverkusencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNABU Leverkusen collaborates with NaturGut Ophoven on bat observation excursions (Fledermausexkursion), where participants join a night hike at the Oulusee to observe bats hunting insects and learn about their conservation.
• AVEA (Leverkusener Abfallentsorger)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAVEA supports the World Cleanup Day project by donating rubbish collection bags to participating schools and collecting full bags after the clean-up actions, facilitating the environmental education activity.
• wupsi (Leverkusener Stadtwerke / ÖPNV)coreGTM or Marketing Partnerwupsi partners with NaturGut Ophoven on multiple initiatives: the energieLux climate project, the Kindermeilen (Climate Miles) campaign, and the 'Mein klimafreundlicher Kitaweg' creative competition for Kitas. wupsi's managing director Marc Kretkowski personally honors winning schools.
• Mercedes-BenzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMercedes-Benz employees participated in a Social Day corporate volunteer program on the NaturGut Ophoven grounds, contributing to practical maintenance work such as meadow mowing and tree cutting as part of the company's CSR activities.
• Ford-Werke GmbHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFord-Werke GmbH participated in a Social Day corporate volunteer activity, contributing to grounds maintenance work at the nature education centre.
• SKF (Schweinfurt)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSKF employees conducted a Social Day volunteer session at NaturGut Ophoven, contributing to grounds maintenance as part of the company's corporate social responsibility program.
• abcfinance (Köln)minorGTM or Marketing Partnerabcfinance from Cologne participated in a Social Day for the third consecutive year, supporting grounds maintenance including outdoor area design around the new group room, meadow maintenance in the Amphibion, and Wiembach creek clean-up.
• AWO-Familienseminar LeverkusenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe AWO-Familienseminar hosted the vegan Christmas cooking course organized by NaturGut Ophoven, providing the venue and reaching AWO family seminar participants.
• BNE-Landesnetzwerk NRWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a BNE Regionalzentrum (regional centre for Education for Sustainable Development) in North Rhine-Westphalia, NaturGut Ophoven is part of the state-level BNE network, coordinating regional activities and participating in the 16 Bildungszentren Klimaschutz (16 Climate Protection Education Centres) initiative.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Deutsche Umwelthilfe: National environmental NGO focused on policy advocacy and consumer information, not direct education delivery. Adjacent peer sharing cause area (sustainability education) but operating in a complementary rather than competing capacity.

Direct peers

• Waldpädagogikzentren (e.g., WPZ Augsburg / Haus im Schönes): State-supported forest education centers across German Länder offering nature and forest pedagogy courses for schools and Kitas. Highly comparable to NaturGut Ophoven's nature-based learning offerings on outdoor grounds.
• Umweltstation Liasgrube: Environmental education center in Bavaria offering nature-based and sustainability programs for schools, families, and kindergartens. Near-direct comparison as a regional Umweltstation with curriculum-aligned courses and hands-on outdoor programming.
• Nationalparkzentrum Bayerischer Wald: National park visitor and education center operating indoor exhibits and guided outdoor environmental education programs. Comparable to NaturGut Ophoven's hybrid museum/outdoor model, though with larger state funding and visitor volumes.
• Heinz Sielmann Stiftung: Operates a network of Heinz Sielmann Natur-Erlebniszentren across Germany offering nature-based experiential education for children and families. Closest structural analog to NaturGut Ophoven's combination of indoor interactive exhibits, outdoor grounds, and educational programming, although at much larger scale.
• Schutzstation Wattenmeer: Non-profit environmental education organization running ranger-led guided tours, school programs, and volunteer placements at the Wadden Sea. Direct comparison to NaturGut Ophoven's ranger-led outdoor courses, school programming, and FÖJ/BFD volunteer model.
• BNE-Regionalzentren (other 15 in NRW): The 15 other BNE Regionalzentren in North Rhine-Westphalia share NaturGut Ophoven's official mandate, structure, and coordination of 'Schule der Zukunft'. Direct institutional peers within the same funding and policy framework.

Broad incumbents

• BUND Naturschutz in Bayern: Large German environmental NGO with a nationwide network of local groups running environmental education programming. Broader incumbent comparison — overlapping mission and educational offerings but with significantly larger scale and political advocacy focus.
• Kölner Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Köln): Major regional zoo operating extensive family and school environmental education programming, including interactive exhibits. Comparable as a Leverkusen-adjacent venue competing for family and school programming time, but with much larger scale and a different core offering.

Regional players

• NABU Naturschutzstationen: Local NABU nature stations across NRW offer environmental education, family events, and school programs, partly overlapping NaturGut Ophoven's offerings. Regional peers given the existing NABU-Stiftung Naturerbe NRW relationship that hosts the ProNKids endowment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NaturGutOphoven
• Facebookfacebook.com/NaturGutOphoven
• Instagraminstagram.com/naturgutophoven
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/naturgut-ophoven

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NaturGut Ophoven