De Velner Estate
About the project
The “De Velner” Estate was founded as early as the thirteenth century near the village of Wijhe in the province of Overijssel. Although the manor was broken down in the early nineteenth century, the estate grounds still consist of a mix of forests and agricultural lands. Landgoed De Velner is positioned in between two other estates, which boast their own forested areas. However, these estate forests are bisected by agricultural land, most of which lack biodiversity due to extensive usage.
Life Terra has therefore decided to partner with two local farmers to create new forest and forest corridors at Landgoed De Velner that will connect the forests of all three estates. These forest corridors will have varying widths, creating a variëty of new habitats and ensuring that different types of local fauna can more easily move between existing natural areas.
Objective
Create biodiverse forest corridors on 10.7 hectares of former degraded agricultural land using native and climate-resilient species.
Impact
As these former agricultural lands have been used extensively over the past decades, very little biodiversity remains. By planting a mix of native species and by creating a variety of habitats that will connect existing forests, this project has a major impact on biodiversity. Besides, soil quality and water infiltration will be enhanced, carbon will be stored and fixed for decades and landscape values will increase. This will directly contribute to the maximisation of ecosystem services in the area. Creating new biodiverse forests on this scale in the Netherlands is rare and makes this project an exceptionally high-value carbon storage opportunity.
Supporting this project means supporting the following Sustainable Development Goals:
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