The village evening in Elim of the Local Interests Nieuwlande, Elim, Hollandscheveld and Noordscheschut, about the future of the landscape, was well attended. More than thirty residents came by, each of whom also raised different topics.
Landscape vision is an important topic in the area. The decline in meadow birds is large. This is due to the filling in of several old peat districts, which means that not much open water remains. With more surface water and the construction of a pond here and there, the situation can be reversed and the chance that the meadow birds will return is considerable.
“In the area around the Albartsweg, in consultation with the land owner, a start has been made along the (former) Alteveerse neighbourhoods. One of those initiators is Henk Dekker of the Meadow Birds working group. Dekker sees that the meadow birds have increased since then,” says Jan de Vries of Local Interest.
Plea for the return of meadow birds
Henk Dekker made a plea on the village evening to stop ignoring the landscape vision and to pay explicit attention to it. “He was acclaimed for this. The value of recovering the coppice culture that disappeared more than twenty years ago was also mentioned in this context. In addition, planting native shrubs will promote the growth of meadow birds.” The situation in which the old peat districts, through the forests of Schoonhoven, find themselves, caused many a concern. “The point is that a landscape vision includes which valuable remains from the peat period you want and can keep for the future and which you can possibly retrieve,” says de Vries. The peat districts in the woods near Schoonhoven used to be waterways. About 60 years ago these were (largely) cut off from the surrounding area. These waterways have not been maintained since and it shows.
Historically valuable area
Those present agreed that it is not a textbook example of how to deal with a historically valuable area. During the village evening, Peter Bruins Slot drew attention to water management in the forest area, which will benefit the quality of the forests. Other topics that, according to those present, would not be out of place are: necessary energy transition, fields with solar panels, improving accessibility, recreational routes and the petrification of many gardens in Hoogeveen and the surrounding area.
The working group can count on a lot of support. A few attendees indicated that they wanted to play an active role in the development of the landscape vision. “As a working group, we look back on a pleasant village evening and see a lot of motivation being released. We will make ourselves audible to the residents involved in the short term and organize a new evening with the progress.”