Green Revolution in North Holland? Record number of people want subsidy for nature restoration

The fund was created to encourage citizens to be more actively involved in nature restoration. The number of registrations shows that people from North Holland are increasingly willing to work for the flowers and bees. Landscape Noord-Holland is the executor of the projects and offers support for larger jobs. “The more people are actively involved in nature, the better. The awareness that we need and must protect greenery is of great importance. Especially now with the declining biodiversity, in which the Netherlands is in the leading group”, Van Langen reacts against NH News.

Every year, the province makes more than 700,000 euros available to increase biodiversity and protect plant and animal species. In 2022, 101,500 euros is earmarked for the Involvement in Green Fund†

The 92 entries requested a budget for a total of more than 503,000 euros. Of these, the jury chose 48 projects; 22 received the full budget and 26 applications were awarded a part. From 1 February to 1 March, residents of Noord-Holland were given the opportunity to submit their application. “The goal is for the projects to be completed by the end of the year.”

Projects that qualify for a financial contribution must strengthen the biodiversity in the area or improve the protection of species in the province. Think of butterfly gardens, bee oases or bat boxes. “But citizens can also apply for a budget for larger jobs that volunteers cannot perform themselves, such as deepening a toad pool, creating a wetland zone or hiring an expert for a management plan.”

Shelter tunnels and gas stations

In the Bloemendaal forest, for example, so-called shelter strips are being constructed for animals along the forest edges. These shelter strips or tunnels consist of curved wire mesh, covered with shrubbery. “They are placed near roads so that animals can shelter in these overgrown tunnels. The flowering plants also attract more insects.”

In Anna Paulowna, a village association can get to work on making their park greener, two schools in Bussum are given a green schoolyard and volunteers in Zwaag can organize a plant exchange market.

be in Amsterdam stepping stones made for bees, small pieces of green with
nectar-rich plants. In addition, ‘gas stations’ are being built at about seventy places in the city for bees and other insects. “Ten other initiatives can create a butterfly, insect, herb or picking garden. Barn owls, bats and insects also benefit from the contributions from the fund,” Van Lange responds. Further grants will go towards tools and equipment for volunteer groups.

The impact of the fund on the landscape in North Holland is greater than we think,” says Martine van den Heuvel, of the Province of North Holland. The volunteers themselves are responsible for the projects, not the fund. With a local approach, volunteers see opportunities to design their own neighborhood or an area close to home in a nature-friendly way.The small projects also have an impact on enhancing biodiversity. For example, sowing native plants in a street or bed can be enough for a better spread of bees or is it attractive for birds to stay there, because there is more food available. In this way nature becomes part of the immediate living environment.”

More budget

Given that the budget requested annually is many times higher than the money to be spent, should more money not be made available from the fund from now on? “If we look at the many applications and the results in Noord-Holland, that would of course be very nice. But the province is responsible for this and makes the money available,” responds Marijke van Langen, project manager of Landscape Noord-Holland.

The Province of Noord-Holland has already announced that a higher budget is not in it for the time being. “The fact that so many applications have been received indicates that many people consider nature and their immediate living environment important and are willing to commit themselves to this. We increased the amount of the fund two years ago, because we noticed that there was an increasing interest At the moment we have no plans to increase the amount again.”