See also "activities" section below

Farming in the "Uitkerkse Polder"

It is a real Indian summer day when we visit André Derycker in Lissewege. Thanks to the beautiful weather, he has made good progress in mowing, so he has a little time for a chat. This 51 year old farmer runs an intensive cattle farm with breeding cattle and part of it is grazing for some years now on a few parcels in the nature area of the "Uitkerkse Polder" (near Blankenberge). This pasture land of over 230 hectares is a paradise to meadow birds and geese. Therefore it is part of the European Natura 2000 network.
"It worked out well for me at the time", he says straightforward. "I needed the extra land and Natuurpunt had a spare parcel. I had no problems with the conditions of the agreement - among others no manuring and grazing is only allowed after the 15th of June. I've never been against the nature area, although I have received some criticism from other farmers. They reproached me for being a 'green boy'. I suspect it had something to do with jealousy, because I see now that there are no more free parcels in the nature area. Other farmers also joined the system".

He understands all too well the frustrations of his fellow farmers. "We live in economically harsh times. We have to consider lots of regulations, but those are most of the time not very transparent. Most farmers would like to participate and oblige to all those regulations, but sometimes even the government doesn't exactly know what to do. I have plans for a new and modern stable that will respect the environment as well as the animals, with the help of the right material or structure. But it is a real road to Calvary to get all the necessary permissions". According to André, the other farmers also feel like being the evildoer. "The majority of the farmers is not against nature, but they feel as if they are getting the worst end of the stick and as if nature and industry are getting all the favours. That creates frustrations and a sour atmosphere". The farmers tend to consider the government and Natuurpunt as one whole, André experiences. But with the local people of Natuurpunt he has good contacts. "With John Van Gompel who, as the conservator of the Uitkerkse Polder, knows the area and the farmers very well, we can make flexible and correct agreements. But the contacts with the government are far more difficult, unmanageable, and more complex".

In the 23 years that he runs the farm together with his wife, André has seen a lot of changes. But he is not the type to dwell on the past or "the good old days". With his positive attitude he likes to move on with his company. Seize opportunities such as the grazing of the Uitkerkse Polder. Modernise the farm, perhaps follow new trends such as farm-tourism. "A lot has changed due to the globalisation and the industrialisation. But luckily in our sector of the breeding cattle, things aren't too bad. We are still a family enterprise. There is no multinational running our business. I wouldn't call myself an environmentalist, but I'm very aware of our surroundings. Everyone should be like that, or we will poison ourselves", the ex-baker concludes.

Farming and nature conservation : saying "it wasn't a very successful marriage in the past" would definitely be an understatement (as in the rest of the Poldercomplex the intensive agriculture in the 70s and 80s destroyed thousands of acres of historical wetlands). Today, thanks to the changed policy of the European Commission (and therefore also local government), by e.g. the cross compliance measure in the Mid Term Policy, we can truly speak of a partnership.

As they did in the past (i.e. 50 years and more ago) farmers are managing the Polders with respect for natural values. In the Uitkerkse Polder the farmers agree not to deposit manure on their fields, to wait to let out their cattle till 15 May or June (depending on when the little chickens leave their nest), to limit the number of cattle per acre, … This recipe works: up to 50 farmers are joining us in the Uitkerkse Polders (spread across Flanders we got more than 500 partners!).

Natuurpunt finds this partnership very important and needs this partner-farmer. First of all we want to be good neighbours with the farmers (it's important for the public support). Secondly - from the financial pount of view - we can't manage all of our nature reserves on our own. Perhaps surprising but Natuurpunt owns fewer cattle than the farmers who are using our land.

Extract from Natuurpunt magazine Nature.blad

The "geese-happening" on Sunday the 18th of December 2005 at the "Oostkustpolder" turned out to be a more than succesfull day. Over a thousand visitors came to discover the wide variety of activities at no less than 6 locations (from Ostend to Knokke!). The eye-catcher was without a doubt the happening at Damme (not far from Bruges) where an extensive programm was presented to the public.

After a short introduction in the cellar of the historical town hall of Damme (with thanks to the municipality of Damme!) young and old could experience the winter spectacle called the "vriezeganzen" (literally: "frosted geese"). By foot or in mini-vans (to find the geese on further locations) the visitors defied the winter cold.
Groups from the "inland" (among others a group of Toyota came to visit the polders) could appeal to a real flight control center that located the geese populations. The dispersion plan of the groups could even convince Minister Landuyt to come and watch this impressing nature spectacle!

To our volunteers this was most certainly the reward for the intensive preparation during several months of this "vriezeganzen"-campaign. The geese-happening was by far the highlight of a campaign through which we worked out an educational geese-trunk (including a game of goose), a geese brochure and poster, as well as a childrens booklet. This booklet, written by the award winning youth author Linda Van Mieghem, was also presented at the happening.

And the geese? Of course they showed up (including the very rare Red-breasted Goose!), as well as a beautiful winter sun.

Event photos:

A warm thank you to everyone who helped to make this a day to remember! This is an initiative of Natuurpunt that fits in the campaign "Ontdek de Oostkustpolder, bekleivende natuur", with the valued support and colaboration of the Institute of Nature Preservation (Instituut voor Natuurbehoud), the European LIFE Nature Fund, the Flemish Government (within the framework of the Coast Action Plan), the Provincial Nature Fund and Toyota.

Networking: a polder for man and nature: partnership Toyota & Natuurpunt in the Poldercomplex

Saturday June 18th was a very festive day for the Flemish NGO Natuurpunt in the Oostkustpolder with the presentation of the partnership with Toyota. More then 80 invitees (like the province governor and different members of the Belgian and Flemish Parliament) enjoyed a colloquium on "a harbour and polder for man & nature" which was followed by a bus trip showing different inspiring win-win-projects in the nature areas near Toyota's site in Zeebrugge. All of these projects had one thing in common: they all showed the opportunities of the Bird & Habitat-directive (so: forget the cliché of nature versus harbour, versus agriculture or versus tourism!).

The day started with a colloquium on the theme "a harbour for man & nature".

Karel Ameye, moderator and president of the environmental council of the city of Bruges, welcomed us in the 21st century in which a nature organisation (like Natuurpunt) as well as economical organisations (like Toyota) should choose for the dialogue instead of the conflict.

Joachim Coens, President of the Port Authority MBZ stressed that the harbour - particularly the Toyota Vehicle Logistics Centre Zeebrugge - did not only create a surplus-value for the economy, but that MBZ had also chosen a dedicated policy of a harbour living in harmony with its neighbours and with the natural values.

Deputy Moniek Boydens of the city of Bruges joined the President of MBZ stating that there are numerous win-win-projects in the port of Zeebrugge.

Vice President IT & Vehicle Logistics of Toyota Motor Marketing Europe, Ludo Vandervelden told us that not only government can take actions towards a sustainable development but that also companies can grab this opportunity. Inspired by the baseline "Zeronize maximize" Toyota proofs that a zero emission will be possible in the automotive sector.

Vice President External Affairs, Piet Steel continued Toyota's story by focusing on their social contribution policy in which the company contributes worldwide to NGOs working on road safety, education or environment hereby also striving to actively involve their employees in these projects. Natuurpunt with its local branches and its several reserves next to the Zeebrugge facility perfectly fits in this idea.

Next speaker, Willy Ibens director of Natuurpunt, welcomed the partnership with the largest company in the port of Zeebrugge stating that this partnership perfectly symbolises the idea of the dialogue-model in which NGOs, companies and government stand alongside in their common quest for a sustainable development.

The Minister of Mobility, Renaat Landuyt revealed with our local volunteer and Toyota employee Jean-Marie Delbecque (who initiated the partnership with Toyota) the baseline of our new campaign "Oostkustpolder, bekleivende natuur".

This highlight was followed by an inspiring bus trip showing some concrete results. The highlight of the trip certainly was the visit of the tern peninsula in the harbour of Zeebrugge where at the moment one of the largest European colonies of sandwich tern, common tern and little tern breeds.

The realisation of this peninsula near the Eastern longitudinal dyke proved the statement that the European Natura 2000-areas are an opportunity for man and nature explained Luc Sabbe, adjunct site manager Fluxys. "When we enlarged our gas distribution facility we got quite a lot of sand which we would get rid of … the solution was found 'next door': The sand was used to enlarge the peninsula (which lies just next to the construction site). This meant a real win-win: very little transport costs and new opportunities for the tern colony!".

The Flemish television station VTM covered the presentation of the partnership. Reporter Stefan Six interviews Stefan Crets, CSR Manager Toyota Motor Europe.

The inspiring bus trip ended in the visitor centre in the Uitkerkse Polder where the mayor of the city of Blankenberge, Ludo Monset even spoke of a "historical day" for the nature reserve. He saw the bus trip as a milestone because the nature project would no longer be a project with different governments (local as well as European) and a nature organisation but even with private partners like Toyota.

Marc Van Gastel, advisor Sciences and Innovation of Vice-Minister-President Fientje Moerman, had the honour to finish the beautiful day concluding that the conflict-model economy versus ecology should be past time.

The reception afterwards resulted in numerous informal contacts … hopefully this means new win-win-projects!

Life means taking action…

Life before LIFE was increasing Because of the intensification of agriculture, the original polders (wet meadows) near the Flemish coast are detoriating. Pools, trenches and salt depressions have disappeared because they have been filled with clay and sometimes even foreign earth and rubble (e.g. bricks). Also, the drainage of the wet meadows has been improved, which was of course devastating for the water balance. Thus a lot of wet meadows that are of crucial importance to many plants and birds have been destroyed. The ditches and pools also had an agricultural value by serving as a watering place for cattle.

Within the scope of a Belgian Life project, we therefore want to reverse the loss of precious biotopes by restoring the original landscape. We will do so by restoring the unique water management system of ditches and pools by digging off recently raised parts and by re-digging the disappeared pools. This way, larger surfaces of high-quality (often salty) habitats that are of great importance to many bird species will be created. Besides, we will lower the meadows that have been raised in the recent past.

This way, we will create a substantial expansion of qualitatively well developed salt vegetation and the species associated with it. Some of the breeding species are Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), Redshank (Tringa totanus), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Skylark (Alauda arvensis), and Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis).

Plants that grow in this area are for instance Crested dog's-tail (Cynosurus cristatus), meadow barley (Hordeum secalinum), Soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus), Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris), Hairy buttercup (Ranunculus sardous), Creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra), Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis), Knotted hedge-parsley (Torilis nodosa) and several types of clover.

In total, we are planning to restore 50 ha of these polder meadows.

Avocet		Redshank		Blacktailed godwit
Hairy buttercup		Peak grass		Field Barley

The story in pictures

The area before restoration		At the start of the digging		Careful removal of the upper layer
Ground after removal of raised earth areas		Superfluous material removed by tractor		First pools begin to appear
After restoration - rich in relief, ditches and pools		Relief and ditch

Youngsters roll up their sleeves in Blankenberge

Lending a helping hand in the Uitkerkse Polder as part of Nature Project Week...

From 18 to 22 April 2005, the nature reserve Uitkerkse Polder was the operating base for the Spermalie secondary school from nearby Bruges. Within the framework of a project week focusing on nature and the environment, deaf and hearing impaired pupils immersed in the salty meadows both in the literal and in the figurative sense… Not only did they learn more about the local fauna and flora, they also lent a helping hand in conserving and restoring this unique natural reserve. And into the bargain, they got acquainted with social life and voluntary work.

As warm-up, the first project day started with a round of game-of-goose, during which the youngsters found the thematic ingredients for the coming week, including a little frog which they caught themselves (and released again afterwards of course !). In the afternoon, they got on a covered wagon and embarked to a local witch on an herbal flora expedition in Loppem.

On Tuesday morning, the youngsters enjoyed an informative quiz at the visitor centre on their knowledge of nature. In the afternoon, as one say that 'field experience is the best teacher', they went on a guided tour in the salty meadows, armed with binoculars. Having arrived in the bird hide, they scanned the sky for birds, feasted their eyes on the many crested lapwings and stood in awe of a hunting kestrel's sudden nose dive.

After having explored both the land and the air, it was time for the youngsters to gain some in-depth knowledge about water. Thus, the theme on Wednesday was wastewater treatment. The youngsters went on a bicycle ride which took them to the wastewater treatment plant of Aquafin, where they found out how dirty sewage water is purified.

The next day, it was time to put theory into action. The Spermalie pupils were happy to do their bit in restoring the habitat of the many plants, birds and other animals they had been introduced to these past few days. So they pulled up their sleeves and engaged in some fieldwork: sawing up and debarking trees, fencing off compost heaps, piling up and painting posts, restoring duckboard paths, etc. Hungry work, to say the least! But the youngsters enjoyed working in the country air, and their efforts were rewarded afterwards with a copious barbecue.

Before they knew it, it was Friday, and their intensive, informative nature project came to an end. It was wound up with workshops and a reception to which the proud team of new conservationists invited their parents and the regional press. On the reception all of the pupils received a membership of Natuurpunt for their hard work !

When asked to describe how they felt after this experience, the youngsters were absolutely enthusiastic. 'The weather was fine, there were no cars to be seen, only meadows, birds and cows. It was so quiet, and the wind brushing against my face was such a nice feeling!' Wim Maes told us.

Lynn Corriez was as proud as a peacock: 'On Monday, Bob asked which of us would like to help him catch a frog. I volunteered, and though it was not easy, I managed to catch a really big, fat one!' Her partner in crime Niels Dewulf smiled as he remembered how the frog slipped through their fingers in the end. He was impressed by the beauty of the Uitkerkse Polder: 'I saw so many different birds in the meadows. I cannot but adore them, they're so beautiful. Round and about the visitor centre I saw a lot of beautiful plants too. I especially liked the pond, in which we discovered an enormous variety of plants. I really liked helping the people from Natuurpunt. I enjoy walking in the healthy open air, but I like working in the fields just as much!'

Sharon Vergote put it in a nutshell: 'Nature makes you feel better. We all need nature!'

"Uitkerkse Polder, a surplus value for man and nature" that's for sure!

Networking: "LIFE" means Holidays

December 29th 2004 we had the honour to welcome the Flemish television programme "Vlaanderen Vakantieland".

Their mission?...

Making a holiday reportage on Flanders largest meadow reserve where at that time you could enjoy the wintering geese (e.g. up to 90% of the Svalbard population of the Pink Feeted Geese winters in the Oostkustpolder-complex of which Uitkerkse Polder is one of the key strongholds).

Armed with binoculars and the necessary filming equipment our local volunteers showed anchorwoman Sabine Hagedoren their project.

The reportage was broadcast on January 8 & 9.

This prooves that not only bird watchers are interested in this spectacular phenomenon but that the V-formations of geese, the sound of hundreds of geese in a wetland, … can charm many people! This prooves that geese (and largely seen: birds and other fascinating natural wonders selected for the Natura 2000-network) can be seen as a lever for the tourist development of a region!

Natuurpunt organised a meeting for all the active volunteers on december 11th in Leuven (Flandres). The Natura 2000 and Eurosite display was a huge succes. For the first time our volunteers could collect information about the network of Europe's natural areas. The more than 300 participants were very interested in both the display and the brochures. Now they can start to dessiminate the Natura 2000 idea on their own activities. Definitly worth repeating!