Small Landscape Elements
The working group was created in 1991 and has about 25 – 30 members. Both retirees and, people in employment are enthusiastic members of the working group. On average, about ten people work at the workplace.
Most of the work takes place from mid-October to mid-March. Work is carried out on Saturday mornings from 09:00 – 12:00 and on Tuesday afternoons from 13:00 – 16:00. Some people come only on Saturday mornings, others come only on Tuesday afternoons and a few come on both days. Everyone can make their own choices here, but (some) loyalty is of course appreciated. During this period, the work consists mainly of coppice maintenance in existing and new nature reserves. This involves thinning out young forest and removing stands. Other tasks are pruning, pollarding and shortening of wooded banks.
In the summer, on Tuesdays (morning or afternoon, depending on the weather), burial mounds are mowed in and around the Veldhoven area to prevent them from being overgrown by seedlings, brambles, etc.
We do this work mainly because it is great fun and healthy. We work as a team, we are outside getting exercise and there is time for socialising while working. And we serve a good cause because in this way we contribute to nature maintenance and help to improve the natural value by promoting more variety in the vegetation.
We have good contacts with Natuurmonumenten, Brabants Landschap and Veldhoven’s local authority. We work a lot on sites they manage. Brabants Landschap coordinates ‘Volunteer Landscape Maintenance’ in the province of North Brabant. Every year in October, they organise a meeting for delegates from all volunteer groups in the province to kick off the new season.
At the end of the season, we organise an ‘outing’. Usually, this is an excursion followed in the afternoon by a social gathering in the IVN building D’n Aard with food and drinks and we talk about our work.
Since 2004, the working group, together with Natuurmonumenten, has hosted one of the locations for the National Nature Working Day. This takes place annually on the first Saturday in November. People who have signed up to come and work are then welcomed and guided.
Is this something for you? For more targeted information: Cor van Leeuwen, phone number +31 6 3973 9572
