Scheutbospark

With its meadows, scrub woodland, clusters of trees, bushes, and streams, the Scheutbos area recalls the former rural landscape surrounding Brussels. It lies in the far west of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, on the edge of the Brussels-Capital Region. Today, it forms the transition in landscape between the metropolis with its high-rise buildings and the Brabant countryside. The park covers 50 hectares and is managed by Leefmilieu Brussel.

Originally, the Scheutbos area, like a large part of Brabant, was covered with a gigantic coal forest. Exploitation began in the eighth century, and 400 years later, almost the entire area was deforested to be used as agricultural land. Several farms, such as those of Moortebeek and Ravensteen, depended on the feudal court of Brabant and are mentioned in the documents from that period. The area is also known because a significant battle took place there in the Middle Ages: the Count of Flanders, Louis of Male, claimed part of Brabant and crushed the Brussels troops on August 17, 1356.
And the landscape? The Ferraris map shows that in 1775, Scheutbos was a whole of forests (in the north), agricultural lands, ponds (in the lowest point of the valley), and wet meadows. Two streams traverse this hilly terrain: the Maalbeek, which flows from west to east, and the Leibeek, which springs from it.
The urbanization of the area began in the nineteenth century. The forests disappeared one by one, the ponds were drained, the wet lands were drained, and roads were built. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the agricultural lands that once lay in the alluvial valley bottom were moved to the slopes. The Leibeek dried up as a result of the construction of the Mettewie and Machtenslaan. Thereafter, urbanization accelerated: a nursing home, the 'Cité joyeuse,' the Molenbeek athenaeum, and large apartment tower buildings appeared on the site. If the development plan for that sector had not been revised in 1990, Scheutbos would now be completely gone.

Today, the area is divided into two clearly separated sectors: a regional park of six hectares that was established between 1993 and 1995, and a semi-natural area that was classified in 1997.

The semi-natural Scheutbos extends over a hilly plateau that is crossed by two streams (Maalbeek and Leibeek) and two neighborhood pathways (Nesteling and De Raedtstraat). Because it is situated so high, it offers beautiful views over the city. It also has all the characteristics of the typical rural character of Pajottenland.

Several habitats converge here:
- Meadows with cattle cover about 70% of the area of Scheutbos. Because they are intensively grazed, there are few flowers (daisies, buttercups, wallflowers, etc.)
- Forested areas mainly consist of willows (shooting and sallow willow) in the Maalbeek valley and remnants of a mixed oak and beech forest that was planted in the early twentieth century.
- Fallow lands with shrubs and bramble bushes are very interesting from an ecological perspective and for the natural evolution they witness.
- A reed bed of about 2 hectares lies in the southeast, in the Maalbeek valley. It mainly consists of reeds and swamp sedge, but hairy willowherb, hogweed, hedge bindweed, etc., also grow there. The yellow iris, the flower that symbolizes Brussels, is also abundant.
- The pond in the north serves as a water source for the cattle grazing in the surrounding meadows.
- There is also a large area (about 2 hectares) with 'wild' vegetable gardens behind Menuetstraat in the southern part of the site.

The 'Amis du Scheutbos' compiled an inventory of the fauna and flora of the classified area. They confirm the presence of more than 300 flowering plants, 87 varieties of fungi, 66 species of trees and shrubs, 30 butterflies, and 120 different insects. Almost 90 bird species build their nests in Scheutbos or stop there during their long migratory journeys. The most common birds are: hedge sparrow, wild duck, black crow, starling, great tit, and winter wren. But you should not be surprised if you also notice other species, such as moorhen, partridges, pipits, whitetailed eagles, sparrowhawks, and kestrels.
The smallest rodent in Europe, the pygmy mouse, resides in the reed bed. Other mammals (about ten) that have been observed in the area are mostly rodents (field, wood, and shrew mice, hares, etc.), but you can also find weasels and foxes. The part of the area that currently holds the most botanical interest is the old landfill for inert waste, where mainly soil ended up that was excavated for the construction of Leopold II Avenue. On this relatively poor, disturbed ground, a multitude of flowers now grow that you can only find in Scheutbos.

Basilica Koekelberg