When you talk about Zundert, you say Flower Parade and the birthplace of Vincent van Gogh. But there is still a pearl in the crown of the West Brabant village: millions of trees and bushes grow. Zundert is the heart of the tree nursery in the Netherlands. They also want to take on in the rest of Europe who take on leading role. That is why they have installed a business park with knowledge center for and through the tree sector: Treeport. It is even the greenest business park in our country.
“Fifteen years ago there was nothing here. Grassland, partly under water, some trees”, says Remco van Dessel. He comes from Zundert and grew up with the nurseries. “Always had side jobs, yes”.
AIS project leader he saw Treeport grow. “Ultimately, this is a dream that I was allowed to work on.” The ambition extends beyond Zundert. “Europe Lord we come, haha”.
Business Center Treeport is the official name. More than sixty hectares in size and cross -border because partly in Flanders. On the east side border crossing Hazeldonk and the high -speed line. A meter -sized iron tree against an advertising mast marks the site.
On the west side neighborhood Oekel and Rijsbergen. That side is wooded. In one of those forests against the site is a chapel with a statue of Our Lady of the Mosten. People who work on Treeport sometimes make a detour during the break. You can’t ignore the trees.
Green
But also not because of the huge wadi. When a wide canal runs through the water storage. A giant pontoon with solar panels floats on the water. They are also on top of all roofs, invisible. And they have their own windmills. MINCHUILS, insect hotels and branch forests for hedgehogs are scattered. Treeport has therefore been declared the most green business park in our country.
180 companies have been working together in Treeport since 2006. They come from the area but also from Haaren and Son. “The aim is to connect everything together. Companies, education and government,” says Van Dessel. They will connect that in two weeks on the site with a huge greenery. A tent temporarily rises for the thousands of visitor.
They also connect with politicians and employees of the European Union, the province of Noord-Brabant and the water board. Peter Berben can receive them. He is a program manager at Rootz. “I am proud to be able to stand here”.
Attendant
Everyone is about the green carpet. They come together in the special office of Rootz, in the middle of the site. A building of a lot of wood. Inside are the walls of recycled army uniforms and old suits of Sterterwardessen. In fact, everything from recycled materials, from the tables to the coat racks. Only the coffee maker is new. That overlooks an inner garden with shade -loving plants, as it is called.
There is a laboratory in Rootz. “Seven percent of the plants has only been investigated. We know nothing about many plants. For example, about purifying water,” says Remco van Dessel. They find out exactly what plants can do in the lab and on the site. There are two test fields at Treeport, with willow forests and alder.
“A certain type of willow can take Pfas from the bottom,” says Van Dessel. It is particularly up -to -date now that that toxic PFAS appears in the bottom in more and more places. Van Dessel explains that they also look at healing substances and essential oils, for the medical and pharmaceutical world.
Manager Peter Berben emphasizes that so much can still be learned from nature. “We have to go back to the power of the plants. Sometimes we have forgotten what the plant can mean for us.”
Zundert = Corso + van Gogh + Tree cultivation
Brabant is a real tree province. That is due to the good soil. Sandy soils are ideal. More than forty percent of the 2,700 nurseries in our country are in Brabant, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
There are also many nurseries in Haaren and Oisterwijk and the surrounding area. But Zundert really takes the lead with around 260 companies. In Zundert, the estimate is that one in three inhabitants has something to do with that tree cultivation. As an employee, supplier or transporter or through family or circle of friends.
If you drive through Zundert or neighboring villages as eight times and Wernhout, you cannot ignore it. Rows with plants and trees. Small and large. It has sometimes been calculated that 150 million trees and bushes leave the municipality of Zundert every year.
