CANAPE: Announcing the Conference Field Trips
After 2 days of discussions at the Conference, our participants will be able to go on one of two exciting field trips to explore cutting edge techniques in Dutch peatlands.
To register for our conference, please go to our conference page here.
Alde Feanan
Fen site Alde Feanen is situated in the heart of the province of Fryslan. The site has been shaped by peat cutting and floodings, leading to a landscape of turf ponds that partly filled in with new peat and shallow lakes where wind and waves merged turf ponds. The site is a Natura 2000-site and contains reedlands, alder and bog carrs, poor fens and semi natural grasslands. It is home to a breeding pair of white tailed eagles, a cormorant colony, otters and the Dutch endemic subspecies of the tundra vole Noordse woelmuis (Alexandromys oeconomus arenicola).
Major challenges for nature management of this area are related to surface water eutrophication, lowering ground water levels and ongoing succession to carr forest. From 2015 – 2019 a LIFE-project was carried out to rejuvenate periodically mown reedlands and to restore submerged vegetation in former turf ponds. This has had some spectacular results, especially for the restoration of submerged vegetation.
The day starts in Leeuwarden, where participants will pick up their lunch and enter the bus. The excursion will be hosted by the site manager It Fryske Gea, who will show the variation present in the area and explain what did and what did not prove successful in restoration efforts. The program consists of a combination of a boat trip to restoration sites from the LIFE projects and a guided walk through land-accessible parts with different ecological setting and restoration history.
De Wieden
Wieden and the adjacent site De Weerribben are Natura 2000-areas, which together form the largest fen area in the EU. It contains a plethora of endangered fen species and habitats, including floating rich fens, bog cars, yearly cut reedlands and shallow peat lakes, and the most northern breeding colony of purple herrons in the EU. The area has been shaped by historic peat cutting, which resulted in a mosaic of turf ponds with peat baulks between them. Presently the sites contain large lakes, which developed when wind and waves destroyed the baulks between turf ponds, next to areas filled with small turf ponds canals.
This excursion combines a field trip with a workshop (which is part of the Interreg NWE project Care Peat)
The day starts in Leeuwarden, where participants will pick up their lunch and enter the bus to De Wieden. The morning program consists of a boat excursions with short walks in the area. In the afternoon a workshop will be held.
Participants in the Wieden field trip may then be able to take a train from the local station to reach Rotterdam or Amsterdam for their onward journey home.
Covid Information
The Dutch Government have announced that from the 22nd of September the requirement to quarantine upon entry to the Netherlands will be lifted for those who are fully vaccinated. This means our conference can now be attended more easily by those from the UK. For further details please visit the Dutch Government website below (in English).
https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2021/09/14/netherlands-to-reopen-further-with-coronavirus-entry-passes
We will be required by Dutch law to check the vaccination status of all attendees - further details will be passed to those that have registered. If you have any queries regarding this please contact canape@broads-authority.gov.uk.
For more details on the conference and to register, please visit our page here.