FAUNA FIELDS 19.5 km

DENDERMONDE We all learned about the 4 Heemskinderen and the Ros Beiaard at school. Well, today you can experience the legend for yourself in the place where she is alive and kicking to this day. In Dendermonde, where the Dender and the Scheldt merge, they excel in folklore. Of course, the ten-yearly Ros Beiaardommegang testifies to this. But also the annual Giantommegang Katuit is a folkloric gem. Whether you want to discover the old, bustling city center, take a boat trip on the Dender or dive into history, dendermonde has it all.

DENDERBELLE SAS Fauna fields are fields that are sown with one or perennial mixtures of field herbs, grasses or old agricultural crops. They are sown with the intention of creating food and shelter opportunities for certain animal groups such as birds, mammals and insects in every season. The seed mixture of a fauna field is composed in such a way that successively different species bloom (from early summer to autumn). Fauna fields also remain standing during the winter. The classic fields are then bare, and the animals benefit from the food, shelter and connection that the fauna fields offer. If the field remains standing for several years, natural herbs take over, together with the remaining seeds that germinate again. Today, many fields are sown with maìs. Mai's is a useful food crop in agriculture, but wild animals have little use of it. By replacing a certain area of intensively managed fields with varied fauna fields, the biodiversity in the rural area can be significantly increased. A useful group of animals for agriculture that has been particularly difficult in recent years is bees. These pollinators suffer greatly from habitat fragmentation, a lack of a sufficiently varied supply of pollen and nectar (gestation depletion), sterile ornamental plants and use of herbicides and pesticides.

SPRING : Birds use faunal fields as shelters and breeding grounds. Insects seek out the first flowers and are the preferred food of young partridges and pheasants. Roe deer feast on the first budding leaves.

SUMMER : Bumblebees, bees and butterflies find plenty of pollen and nectar in the lushly flowering fauna fields.

AUTUMN : In early autumn there are still some flowers present. Birds benefit from the seeds and crops that remain on the fauna fields.

WINTER : In the inclement winter weather, the remaining plants of a fauna akekr form an important shelter and feeding place for many animals. After the four seasons (or several years, depending on the mixture), the field is plowed. Then the plants serve as green fertilizer.

BENEDEN DENDER :The Beneden-Dender nature reserve has everything to enchant you. This flood area of no less than 850 hectares is located between Aalst and Dendermonde. The reserve is teeming with small and slightly larger animals, which feast on the rich amount of flowers and plants.

When the water level rises too high, the Dender overflows its banks here. The result is a humid landscape, which is becoming increasingly fertile thanks to the increasingly pure Denderwater. Natuurpunt manages nature here. And ensures that the old Dendermeanders, forests, lakes and pollard willows are given plenty of room to flourish.

This beautiful area is a cross-border nature project, which stretches from Gijzegem to Denderbelle. Various municipal authorities put their shoulders to this project, while the people of Natuurpunt pulled the cart. The result can be seen.

The open space and the landscape are restored with great care – step by step. Grazing management is entrusted to flocks of sheep. Thousands of insects buzz above and in the fields. Countless birds find their home here. And gradually, the production forests full of poplars that used to rule here are being transformed into regional forests. In the pools that are splintered over the area, it is bursting with life. Frogs reproduce there, while the grebe, the stork and the beaver also make their appearance again. And the herons conquer the domain again without any problems.

Do you want to see with your own eyes what this hard work has achieved? That's possible! You can explore the area every season, all year round.

Along the way you will probably come across some information boards and rest benches. This way you can learn about the efforts that are made here and admire everything in one fell swoop. Attention: it is best to put on some boots or sturdy walking shoes when you go for a walk.

If you think that the Lower Dender Valley is only interesting for nature lovers and birdwatchers, then you are wrong. Even the little ones among us are not short of anything here. Numerous schools visit the area every year. They help plant forests, erect branch walls or make bee hotels.

So feel free to come along with the small bouncing balls and take a brisk walk in the woods. Spot grebes and storks, beavers and herons. The dog is also allowed, as long as you keep him on a leash.

Have fun during this bike tour Emiel Peeters