The pupils from Ms Müller and Ms Wandtke’s two Q2 Advanced Geography classes, along with some pupils from the Geography Elective course, went on an exploratory tour of the Welzow opencast lignite mine in early May. Although only about an hour’s drive from Berlin, it felt as though we had been transported to a lunar landscape. Before the last giant lignite excavator ceases operations in 2030, we wanted to take another look at the landscape changes caused by such open-cast mining. The programme also included a look at the renaturation and recultivation measures planned for after mining has finished. This allowed us to visit the first Lusatian vineyard, “Wolkenberg”, as well as new farmland and woodland areas on former mining sites. In class, we then discussed further what impact the phase-out of coal in Lusatia might have on Berlin’s water supply in the future, and whether Lusatia will undergo structural change. It remains an exciting topic.