Cutting down trees gives more space for nature in Cronesteyn polder park

Kees Vertigal talks about how logging helps nature in Boulderpark Kronstein. (Video: Robert Borse, Photos: Jerry Van Bakel)

Almost nothing is as sad as a felled tree. The Reigersbos Garden in Cronesteyn polder Park is filled with large and small tree trunks. There are rows of half poplar trees along the path from the canal to the entrance to the Blacksmiths' Garden. It sounds like nature's final blow, but Kees Vertigal sees it as making room for more nature.

Vertegaal wears two hats. He is a member of the board of directors of the Groen Cronesteyn Foundation, committed to the cultural-historical landscape of Boulder Park, but is also the environmental consultant appointed by the municipality of Leiden for the new management plan for the same Boulder Park. “The plan is presented by the municipality of Leiden, and Groen Kronstein criticizes some parts, but I generally agree with it,” says Vertigal, standing next to the half-bare tree trunks.

Windbreaks
“They will probably spread again,” Vertigal says. “It also happened there on the grounds of the Mourning Garden, although those poplars were a little older, so it remains to be seen whether they will all sprout.” Fruit trees will be planted in the currently open field surrounded by half poplar trees. “This was the gardeners’ area. They came from the site where Leiden Southwest was built. The poplars were planted as windbreaks.”

After the construction of Kronstein Park, the windbreaks were no longer maintained and the poplar trees grew greatly. And now the fruit trees are back. “It will take about ten years before the apples and pears are picked,” Vertigal says. “We have chosen standard fruit trees and this takes longer. But this is historically better than low-trunk fruit trees. The beehives will be placed between the fruit trees. The footpath that used to run directly through the Reigersbos has been moved and now runs along the waterfront. The core of the Reigersbos goes back to Nature Space is given for new plants.

Giant hogweed
What may also take ten years is the eradication of giant hogweed, which, along with nettle and blackberry, is the main invasive species in the registry. “It's a long-term issue,” Vertigal says. “We have a group of volunteers who work hard to reduce giant hogweed and we are already doing a very good job.” Common hogweed is welcome in Kronstein. It is a foreign variant that can cause serious infections and therefore must be removed. “Put it off again and again and keep it going for a few years. I think it will take ten years.”

Anyone who wants to see the Cronesteyn polder park management plan can go there On the website of the Groen Cronesteyn Foundation.

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Sustainability Association Leiden