The walker

Anyone who recently passed the Stappersven can't miss it: the new viewing tower 'De Stapper' of Natuurpunt is a fact. And it has to be said: it is a gem. The 11-metre-high watchtower in the Kalmthoutse Heide, near the Zuid car park and the Verbindingsstraat. It is fully integrated into the landscape and offers a beautiful view of the fen.

The watchtower was given the name De Stapper, after the fen of the same name nearby. From the tower you have a breathtaking view of one of the largest fens in Flanders and the surrounding nature reserve.

"This watchtower is the preliminary highlight of the LIFE HELVEX project," says Luc Jordaens, Natuurpunt curator of the Stappersven. "The real highlight will of course be the natural beauty that will develop here after a radical transformation of the area. The hiker will now be able to enjoy all this from a completely different perspective."

For the realization of this watchtower, Natuurpunt could count on financial support from Flanders and the European Union through the LIFE HELVEX project. This is a cross-border nature project of Grenspark Kalmthoutse Heide with partners Natuurmonumenten, Agency for Nature & Forests and Natuurpunt. This project aims to restore rare and vulnerable wet and dry heathlands, land dunes and fens and to combat unwanted exotic species such as rhododendron and American bird cherry. The project will be completed in the summer of this year.

Hermans Cor Meerle