Bart and Sanne van Gils have been the new owners of a nature reserve near Liempde for a few days now. They bought the plot of more than one hectare from nature organization ARK for ‘a cheap price’. “It feels really good. We are heritage and nature lovers and are very proud of it.”
The plot of Bart and Sanne is located on the edge of the Geelders nature reserve, which has been put up for sale by ARK Nature Development. This organization has the task of making nature areas in Het Groene Woud larger, but also of connecting nature areas to each other.
“We bought a total of 370 hectares of agricultural land in Het Groene Woud. We are now slowly converting that soil into nature that fits the area,” explains Ger van den Oetelaar, who is project leader at ARK.
“In 2019, we asked whether there were people who wanted to manage and maintain a piece of nature. Many private individuals came to this. Last Wednesday, the first people came into possession of a piece of land.”
“More than an acre of land has been added.”
Sanne and Bart are one of these brand new nature managers. Seven years ago they bought a farm in the outskirts of Liempde and now they have been able to further expand their plot. “When we bought it, there was corn all around the farm. At that time, we had already bought part of the land and converted it into nature, which means that more than one hectare of land has now been added.”
In Brabant, according to Van den Oetelaar, there is a good arrangement for realizing nature. “ARK applies for a subsidy from Groen Ontwikkelingsfonds Brabant. Based on 85 percent of the value of the land, ARK receives money for the design. Private individuals can buy the land for the residual value.”
“We are very happy that we always have a beautiful view.”
“We are not allowed to build on it, but you are normally not allowed to do that so far from your house. We are allowed to do small things, as long as it benefits nature. We are already very happy that we always have a beautiful view. Recently, for example, we saw four deer. You can’t wake up any better,” the two proudly say.
The new large landowners are expected to maintain and enhance nature. “We have already done a number of things in our nature reserve. A new piece of forest has been planted and we have made the ditches shallower, so that more water remains. Then nature stays wetter, which is very important, especially in this time.”
The couple already has a clear plan for the future. “It’s getting more and more interesting, of course. We are suddenly nature managers, we still have a lot to learn. In any case, it is already looking good and we would like to keep it that way. We are very proud of it.”
