Natuurpunt Mevrouw Van de Veldereservaat - Prince Bos

On May 7, 1984, Mr. Carolus Faes donated two plots of land (mostly alder and also a former vegetable garden) to the then nature association De Wielewaal on the condition that the association would manage them as the Mrs. Van de Velde Reserve, in memory of his deceased wife. These plots are located on the Châtelain along the canal. That same year, Mr. Thierry Van Schoubroeck from Turnhout allowed two of his plots in that area (reed bed and pond) to be co-managed. In 1987 a small parcel of forest was purchased. Since then, it has been one of the smallest nature reserves in Flanders (a third of a hectare, of which 1,570 m² is owned).
That state of affairs remained unchanged for decades. But in the spring of 2016, the purchase of Mr. Van Schoubroeck's land could be realized, not only of the two plots that we already managed from him in 1984, but also of an adjacent hay meadow (together 9,150 m²). This hay meadow has a beautiful, wide hedgerow with several old oaks. The hay meadow is quite wet, with lots of cuckoo flowers and the accompanying orange tips.
As a result, the area owned in the reserve suddenly increased almost seven times, from 1,570 to 10,720 m², or just over one hectare.

Breeding birds in the reserve include mallard, great spotted woodpecker, blackcap (warbler), garden warbler, wood warbler and some years nightingale. Tawny owl, nuthatch and song thrush breed nearby. Outside the breeding season, you can meet species such as sparrowhawk, woodcock and siskin. The pond is home to a lot of frogs and toads. The presence of salamanders will be investigated with amphibian traps.
The reserve also has a floristic value with, for example, spotted lungwort, blackcurrant, thin sedge, marsh marigold, slender watercress, pointed duckweed, yellow aven, etc. The tree and shrub layer includes pedunculate oak, ash, rough elm, common maple, black alder, soft birch, rowan, guelder rose and elder. In spring, snowdrops, trumpet daffodil, celandine, variegated yellow dead nettle, a kind of bluebell, etc. bloom.
A number of the plant species mentioned are considered to be so-called "Stinzen plants". This refers to plants that are often not native to the region but occur on old estates and spread from there into suitable biotopes. There could possibly be influence from estates in the immediate vicinity such as Boone's Hof. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that these plants are not only found in the reserve itself, but also in groves elsewhere in this area.

Jan Meeusen