Despite protests, the first 27 trees in the dune area near Bergen aan Zee have been felled. Dune manager PWN is having the trees examined in the hope of using the wood for housing. This tree felling is the starting signal for the felling of 13,000 trees to ensure that the wind has free play again and the dunes can drift again.
“It’s a shame if the wood ends up in the bio-power station,” says Niels Hogeweg of dune manager PWN. “In the past, the wood was used for mining, that’s what this forest was once planted for. Now a lot of wood disappears in the oven and that is of course not sustainable at all. It would be fantastic if the felled trees could be used for housing in Area.”
But to find out whether the trees are suitable for housing, they go to a wood processing company for a test. “We make a test facade from the wood and have different parts cut for it,” says Anja Verdonk of Natrufied architecture from Bergen. “It’s a great idea that if these trees have to disappear for nature conservation, we can give them a valuable new destination locally.”
Watch the tree felling in the video below (text continues)
The more than 16 hectares of coniferous forest along the Lange Vlak, near the Verspyckweg north of Bergen aan Zee, must disappear in order to to get dunes there to dust again. Removing those trees creates a larger passage for the wind towards the dune area behind.
According to PWN, things are not going well with more than sixty hectares of dune nature near the coastal village. “This is due to too much nitrogen in the soil and too little sand and salt from the coast. In a healthy dune area, the wind has free play, the sand drifts.” The work ensues from the Natura 2000 management plan, commissioned by the province.
Right
The fact that the trees may be given a sustainable destination may be a nice bonus, but the Dune Foundation wants the trees to remain in the forest. The foundation has appealed to the right registered to avoid the hood.
“We have asked PWN to wait with this test cap and to wait for the legal proceedings first,” says Joke Volkers of the Duinstichting. “It is a pity that this did not happen. We also think it is very special that so many trees are being removed for research. The tree felling leaves many traces and causes unrest for people and animals.”