Thirty years ago, Regina Frey wanted to realize her commitment to nature conservation in Indonesia on a long-term basis and extend it to Switzerland. This is why she founded the PanEco Foundation. It is based in Berg am Irchel and she has presided over the foundation since 1996. The purpose at the time was to finance and support development projects in Indonesia, with a focus on orangutan and rainforest conservation and environmental education. PanEco’s goal was to work with the local population to protect, strengthen, and experience nature. Around fifteen years later, in 2011, the foundation opened the Thurauen Nature Center near Flaach as part of the cantonal renaturation project «Flood Protection and Floodplain Landscape at the Thur Estuary.»

PanEco continues to operate the Center today and fulfills a service mandate from the Canton of Zurich. That is why we are celebrating two anniversaries this year: the 30th anniversary of the PanEco Foundation and the 15th anniversary of the Thurauen Nature Center. The Center employs a team of rangers whose task is to ensure that humans and nature can coexist peacefully in the area.

PanEco has developed over the past thirty years, and it now runs the Thurauen Nature Center as well as the Berg am Irchel Bird of Prey Sanctuary. Together with local partner organizations, it supports various programs for the protection of orangutans and their habitats in Indonesia. We are successfully active in Switzerland and Indonesia in the rehabilitation and reintroduction of endangered wild animals, the conservation of natural habitats, and environmental education.

In this anniversary year, we would like to show our work to our friends, supporters, other interested parties, and the people of the Zurich Weinland region. That is why this anniversary year’s motto is “to protect, strengthen and experience nature.