Flowering roadside beechnlaan Zeist ‘should not have been mowed’

April 25, 2024 at 5:55 PM

Nature and environment

ZEIST A group of residents of the Componistenbuurt have been sowing wild flowers for the bees for years. They made a green strip adjacent to the historic beech avenue attractive to bees and other insects. The municipality was aware; the mowers skipped the flower strip. Until last Monday.

“The green worker mowed away half of it and then stopped after a protest by residents. Local residents have been working here for years to restore biodiversity with all their heart and soul and now this is happening. Bizarre,” says one of the residents. “Calling the municipality revealed that new policy is in the making. We must adopt the green strip and take over the care and that must be formally recorded. That policy has yet to be announced. We have now, with our knowledge, but not officially maintained that strip, so the mowing machine has been sent over it. You should take a look at what the municipality writes on its own website about restoring biodiversity. That makes me so sad…”

The municipal spokesperson responds: “We have indeed heard about this. We are happy that these residents took the initiative to grow wildflowers years ago. Not only does it bloom beautifully, but it also gives biodiversity a boost. Although the plot of land was not formally adopted by the residents, the municipality was aware of its existence and should not have been mowed.

That has gone well in recent years, but not this year. We think this is a shame and we are happy that local residents have prevented the entire area from being mowed. We will take the initiative to prevent this in the future.

As a municipality, we want to replace normal grass with wild flowers in many places in Zeist in order to strengthen biodiversity.”