Life Elia

Following an article written in "Hunting and Nature" and published in November 2014, a guard was interested in the actions carried out by the LIFE project.

Plant hedges to improve biodiversity carrying capacity

After several contacts, and given the lack of forest areas in the province of Hainaut, the idea of planting hedges became a real project. The idea was to improve the capacity of the large agricultural plains for small game (Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Rabbit, Hare). The hunting guard, Franck Vandenbulcke, also a farmer, decided to plant a network of 3 km hedges on his plots in the immediate vicinity of the High Voltage network. The planting of 1 km of hedges has been planned for winter 2015-2016.

A beautiful diversity for hedges

Taking advantage of the expertise of the LIFE team that accompanied the project, a planting grant application was submitted. The acceptance of this request allowed the implementation of this large-scale project. In total, 4,500 plants of 13 Walloon species were completed by the plantation of larger trees to ensure the production of logs. These trees have been installed at sufficient distances to guarantee the safety of the Elia network.

Planting on site as a team

After the acceptance of the "plantation" dossier by the DNF, the plantations were organised with the help of a dozen to bring the plantation to a successful conclusion. All planting phases were supervised by the LIFE team. A quick training allowed the hunters to manage the reception of the plants, their dressing, the pralinage, their distribution in the lines after staking, the plantation, and eventually the installation of game protections.

Students from the "Forests and Nature" orientation of the Haute Ecole Provinciale en Hainaut Condorcet joined the planters to help them finalize the plantations.

A reinforced ecological network

In the end, more than 1,500 metres of hedges in three rows were planted. They strengthen the ecological network in the Montoise agricultural plains, improving the carrying capacity for game species but also for all other animal species favoured by flower and fruit species.

Multi-partner actions

LIFE works only in forest areas, but opportunities such as those offered in Saint Symphorien demonstrate the importance of close collaboration between local partners and specialised teams facilitating the implementation of innovative projects.

A good example of the positive effects for biodiversity induced by LIFE !

Congratulations to the local actors motivated by the success of this project: congratulations to Franck, Gaby, Julien, Alexandre, Eric, Antoine, Clémence, and all the other planters. See you next year, to strengthen the Montois ecological network again.