CONVERSATION MANAGEMENT PLAN TO REGISTER AS A VERIFIED CONVERSATION AREA

DOMEIN OOGENLUST EERSEL JORIS VAN DE VEN DECEMBER 2017

1 Index 1. Introduction ...... 3 About Oogenlust ...... 3 Conservation management ...... 4 2. The Conservation Area ...... 5 Location ...... 5 Ownership and management ...... 6 Area management ...... 7 3. Biodiversity baseline ...... 8 Ecosystems ...... 10 Forests ...... 10 Meadows and farmland ...... 10 Freshwater ...... 11 Stakeholder consultation ...... 13 ...... 13 SWOT analysis ...... 14 Planning ...... 15 5. Conservation actions and monitoring ...... 15 Conservation objectives...... 15 Conservation actions ...... 15 Grazing and mowing management ...... 16 Controlling unwanted species ...... 17 Monitoring ...... 18 Reporting ...... 19 Annex ...... 20 Annex 1 Adult species in the forest...... 20 Annex 2 Species planted in the shrubs...... 20 Annex 3 Meadow species ...... 20 Annex 4 Semi aquatic ...... 21 Annex 5 Fauna that can be found on Domein Oogenlust ...... 21 ...... 21 Dragon- and Damselflies ...... 22 Birds ...... 22 References ...... 23

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1. Introduction

About Oogenlust In 1980 Marcel and Monique van Dijk took over the ownership of florist Oogenlust in Veldhoven. At the time this was a small shop amongst others in a common street. From the start Marcel and Monique had a vision: All the decorative materials they would use at their shop should be produced by nature. They did not want artificial products in their shop. This was a serious gamble to make because when they took over the business about half of its revenue came out of selling artificial silk , but from day one they decided to throw all that out of the window and started building on their philosophy.

This turned out to be the right decision. In 1995 Oogenlust moved to a bigger store in a shopping centre in Veldhoven. By this time their event decoration branch had started to take shape and Oogenlust was hiring some warehouse space to store the event decoration materials. In 2001 they made a big step to move to a new showroom on a business park in Veldhoven. This location also included the warehouse and workshop for the event decoration branch. Marcel and Monique were still the only shareholders at this moment. In about 20 years they developed Oogenlust from a small common florist to a top of the line decorator with customers throughout the whole country and decorating events ranging from a dinner for a few people to corporate events for many hundreds of guests. Mostly within Netherlands and Belgium but sometimes crossing the borders into , France or Italy. At the time we thought that it would be impossible that Oogenlust would need more space, but by the end of the decade Oogenlust was renting about 5000 square meters of warehouse at two different locations. In 2012, while Europe was still suffering from the financial crisis, Oogenlust decided to take the next big step. They left Veldhoven and moved to Eersel where they acquired 5,5 hectares of land. It was at this location that Domein Oogenlust arose. Oogenlust build over 10000 square meter of warehouse and another 5000 square meter of workshops, offices, a showroom and an exposition hall at this location and turned the remaining land into a nature hotspot.

The Oogenlust philosophy still hasn’t changed. Still nature is the core of all decorations we produce, but today we don’t just work with natural products, we actually work ín nature. About 70% of Domein Oogenlust qualifies as nature with some forest, meadows and a pond. This nature inspires us every day in our work and we keep developing it as much as we can. But we also use parts of the domain in our decoration. For example the branches have left over after clipping the hedges or pruning the trees find their way into our bouquets. This is just one way of how Domein Oogenlust enforces the Oogenlust philosophy.

Something else we find very important is to show people the beauty of art. One way we like to do this by putting pieces of art on our land. Various sculptures are placed throughout the domain. Some of them made of wood, others made of rock or metal or any combination. Nature is always the most important inspiration when we work at floral design with Andy Goldworthy as Marcel’s ultimate example. We also house an art gallery in our showroom. Art is very important in Oogenlust’s identity, it inspires to make the world more beautiful and stimulates people to think outside the set patterns of life.

Impression and entrance Domein Oogenlust

3 Conservation management Domein Oogenlust is not a traditional park where you will find pruned rhododendrons, carefully trimmed box bushes and pristinely mowed lawns. At Domein Oogenlust we like to stimulate natural processes the way they were before the intensification land use. We help nature to create a biodiverse ecosystem with space for wild as well as plants. We believe that we have to take care of this planet and that is why we like the idea of VCA. We hope that registering Domein Oogenlust with VCA shows that we are serious about our statements and that we can show people that there is a way to make land beautiful and biodiverse at the same time. This Conservation Management Plan (CMP) contains all information required for officially registering Domein Oogenlust as a Verified Conservation Area.

This CMP contains the following parts: - An introduction that informs about the context of this conservation area - An overview of the area and its management organization; - A description of the biodiversity baseline condition; - Conservation SWOT analysis and stakeholder engagement; - A description of priority conservation actions, targets and monitoring scheme.

The framework for this conservation management plan is based on the environmental assessment and management process set out in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard (PS)1, and the conservation issues addressed on the requirements set out in IFC PS6.

This documentation has been prepared by Domein Oogenlust, partly in concordance with the programme of work agreed with the VCA Community of Practice Netherlands.

Once a VCA auditor has audited this CMP, it will be presented to the VCA Secretariat together with the Management Plan Audit report to get the domain registrated.

4 2. The Conservation Area

Location Domein Oogenlust is located in the Netherlands, in the municipality of Eersel, at the junction between national motorway A67/E34 and regional highways N397 and N284 (see figure 1) This location provides Oogenlust with a unique, very high visibility. The traffic junction, known locally as “Het Stuivertje” is the main connection into the countryside for approximately 15000 households in “de Kempen” region.

Figure 1 Geographic coordinates Domein Oogenlust N51.369 E5.327

5 Ownership and management

Domein Oogenlust covers a surface area of 8 hectares: 2,5 hectares is used as build-up area, at the other 5,5 hectares nature management is the objective. Oogenlust owns 5,5 hectares and has users rights on 2,5 hectares of forest. This forest is owned by the municipality of Eersel and Oogenlust has a ground lease for 20 years. The predominant ecoregion in the area is the Palearctic region.

The land Domein Oogenlust is build upon was used as a nursery before Oogenlust established here. The nursery had been in disuse for several years and weeds were slowly taking over the place. During the development of Domein Oogenlust a banner on the fence read: “De poort van de Kempen wordt een lust voor het oog!” which roughly translates to “The gateway to “de Kempen” becomes a pleasure to the eye!”

All existing buildings were demolished during the development of Domein Oogenlust. This created space for a new multifunctional building that houses a showroom, workshops, offices, a logistic centre, a warehouse and an exposition hall. The building is in use by Oogenlust and some partners renting floorspace. An important part of the construction was the re-use of the former showroom Oogenlust used to own in Veldhoven. This building was taken apart and build up again at Domein Oogenlust. Now it is used as an exposition hall. This cradle-to-cradle thought has been the central mind-set during the development of the whole area. In 2015, the roof of the warehouse was partly covered with solar panels. These provide Oogenlust with about 60% of their yearly electricity use. In the summer of 2017 the plan to add more solar panels and become nearly self-sufficient took shape.

The land not in use for business purposes, ca 5,5 ha, is open to the public between sunrise and sunset. Oogenlust is aiming to restore nature by redeveloping this area as extensive farmland and forest. Extensive farmland means that we use the land similar to agriculture in the late 19th and early 20th century. The main goal is to remove all non-native species and encourage the establishment of native flora and fauna.

The map in figure 2 shows a schematic lay out of Domein Oogenlust. The dotted lines are walking tracks connected to other tracks in the area.

- Dark green: Forest area - Light green: Meadow - Brown and olive green: Buildings - Grey: Pavement/parking area - Blue: Water area - White: Roads

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Figure 2 Schematic map Domein Oogenlust

Area management

Name of manager: Joris van de Ven Company: Oogenlust BV Address: Hees 4 5521NV Eersel Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands Phone number: +31 40 253 2482 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.oogenlust.com

7 3. Biodiversity baseline

Until the late 19th century, the main ecosystem in the area of which Domein Oogenlust is part of, was heathlands, grazed upon by the local breed of sheep.

In the early 20th century the heathlands were slowly converted into pine-forest and small unfertile meadows. These unfertile meadows housed various different species which attracted many different species of birds, butterflies, beetles and other fauna. The pine forest has since been overgrown by several non-native species like northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and black cherry (Prunus serotia). The meadows have been used to grow different crops and keep animals. Therefore they have been fertilised and sprayed intensively, creating a monoculture without space for any herbs. Since the late 1960’s hardly any heathland is left.

These land uses practices resulted in massive drops in biodiversity as elsewhere in the Netherlands in similar situations. One example is the massive decline (CBS, 2015) of meadow birds. In 2014 only 34% of black-tailed godwits(Limosa limosa), 39% of Eurasian skylarks(Alauda arvensis) and 42% of Eurasian oystercatchers (Heamatopus ostralegus) was left compared to 1990 (figure 3).

Figure 3 Development of meadow bird populations. Eight out of nine species has shown a decline since 1990

The population in the Netherlands has showed a disturbing trend over the last decades as well. As a result of the use of monocultures and the disappearing of shrub, hedges and flowering meadows the butterflies population has decreased in the 20th century. A slight increase is starting to take shape in the last 10 years as the result of dedicated conservation actions but there are still many species that are declining (figure 4 and 5) (CBS, 2016).

8 Figure 4 Trends in abundance of 52 Dutch butterfly species

Figure 5 Decreasing trend over in the last 25 years

A similar trend can be seen on the land that now houses Domein Oogenlust. Upon the development of the land we had some ecological research done. This showed that there was no important (meaning vulnerable/special) flora on the terrain. This means that there were just various grasses and (invasive) weeds. There was hardly any variety in fauna. Only very abundant species like buzzard(Buteo buteo), robin(Erithacus rubecula), wagtail(Motacilla alba), sparrow(Passer domesticus), rabbit(Oryctolagus cuniculus) and some common butterflies were found on the land.

9 Ecosystems During the development we created roughly 5 different micro ecosystems which we try to maintain and develop on Domein Oogenlust. These ecosystems are coniferous forest, deciduous forest, meadows with hedges, extensive farmland and freshwater ecosystem. Our choice has been to recreate the nature the way it was before the intensification of farming practices. This means that we don’t use fertilisers and pesticides. We minimise the use of herbicides with the goal to not use herbicides at all. Eventually we want to maintain the ecosystems just by mowing, grazing and mechanical weeding. The reason that we need to use herbicides at the moment is that we have a few non-native and very persistent weeds that are very hard to exterminate otherwise.

Forests The forest parts (coniferous and deciduous) of Domein Oogenlust were both infested by northern red oak and black cherry among some other non-native species. Part of the development of the forest was removing, or at least killing, all these species. We still have to control these species because of the seeds in the soil, but at the moment our forest mainly contains native adult plants like English oak (Quercus robur), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Birch (Betula sp.). A more specific list can be found in Annex 1. To smoothen the transition from forest to meadow we planted shrubs. Before there was a very abrupt line between forest and field. These new shrubs give many species -mainly birds and - a home and feeding ground. We only used endemic species of plants. We chose to gain them from a nursery that only uses sprigs from plants with Dutch heritage. A list of species used in the shrubs can be found in Annex 2. To improve biodiversity we do not clear dead trees out of the forest, unless they form a safety hazard for visitors (e.g. dead trees close to the walking paths). These dead trees become home to many invertebrates that are pray for amount of other fauna, mainly birds. This contributes to the improvement of the biodiversity in the area.

Meadows and farmland After the main building was finished, the remaining land was smoothened and part of the soil was removed in order to remove the nutrient rich top soil. The lands were then seeded with seed mixtures containing native species. After the new flora had settled, we acquired sheep to graze the land. We now own 4 sheep and are planning to let this number grow to about 10 adult sheep on 5,5 hectares of land. This qualifies as extensive grazing compared to average farms where they keep 10 to 15 sheep per hectare according to local farmers. Once a year, around mid October, the meadows are mowed. Waiting this long allows the plants time to develop and seeds for the next year. Mowing and than removing the product also reduces the amount of nutrients in the soil.

10 A Less fertile soil creates a bigger chance for diverse species to develop. Besides various grasses, our meadows contain a variety of plant species like wild carrot, yellow rattle, meadow buttercup and morning primrose. At any time during spring, summer and autumn, flowering plants can be found in our meadows. A list of species in our meadows can be found in Annex 3.

Over time we hope to create a stable flora that gives the land a different look every month of the year. The variety of plants attracts different species of butterfly, birds and other fauna. This way we create a home for many species that improves biodiversity. The goal is to only attract native species. A specific habitat for the birds are the hedges we have been planting. Those hedges consist mainly of hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) with about 10% added other species like European beech (fagus sylvatica), English oak (Quercus robur), field maple (Acer campestre) and dog-rose (Rosa canina). These hedges will grow very thick and provide excellent nesting and hiding areas for birds as well as sources of for insects.

One of the biggest challenges we face to maintain the meadows and farmland is controlling the persistent and sometimes exotic weeds. At the moment we are trying to get the following species under control. These species could mostly disappear just by grazing and mowing. However this will take a long time and due to our extensive mowing and grazing management it will not work sufficient for all species.

- Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) - Bitter dock ( obtusifolius) - Ragwort ( vulgaris) - Asian knotweed (Fallopia japonica) - Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) - Canadian horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) - Devil’s trumpet (Datura sp.)

We control these species by mechanical removing them and if needed applying a herbicide. We chose to use a non-selective and ecologically friendly chemical. This product does not leave any residue that can infect insects and other fauna and is therefore a relatively friendly solution. Without using chemicals it would be very difficult to effectively control weeds like creeping thistle.

Freshwater To manage the rainwater that lands on the buildings we created an artificial freshwater system. We had to do this as a part of the planning permission for developing the buildings. Due to the size of the buildings, the sewage system is not able to carry off the amount of rain that falls on our roof. This water management system formed a new ecosystem that is originally not found on the land Oogenlust acquired. To integrate this in the nature plan, we developed a system that collects water from the roofs in two large ponds in front of the building. The water flows through a creek to the back of the terrain when these are full. There it evaporates or sinks in the soil. This freshwater system gave the biodiversity an enormous boost, attracting various different aquatic birds and species of dragon-and damselfly’s. To create the native water flora we seeded the banks of the pond with a mixture containing many native (semi)-aquatic plants. A complete list of those species can be found in Annex 4.

11 Fauna By stimulating the native flora we try to create a habitat for a biodiverse and native fauna at Domein Oogenlust. We started to closely monitor the butterfly and bird species on the domain and hope to see a growing variety of species in the coming years. Our (possibly ambitious) goal is to house all native species of butterfly and birds that belong in this area. To improve the number of butterfly species we have seeded a variety of native flowering plants, all attracting different sorts of butterfly. Some species we already find on the domain are listed in the annex to this document. Dragon- and damselflies are attracted to our artificial freshwater system. These species visit creeks north and south of Domein Oogenlust. Apparently they stay and reproduce here successfully as the number of them is increasing every year.

Apart from the invertebrates, there are many vertebrates that find a place to live at Domein Oogenlust. Birds are our best monitored group. They are attracted by the dense shrub and the abundance of seeds and insects. There are about 20 nestboxes spread out over the domain to provide for some excellent nesting opportunities. We however, have noticed that the birds have no problem finding other nesting places on the domain. We find many nests in trees, bushes and even plants we rent out for decorations. An extra effort is made for more vulnerable species. We use specific nestboxes that we open up at the right moment. Working this way prevents other, less vulnerable species, to occupy the houses before the target species arrives. A list of bird species that have been seen at Domein Oogenlust can be found in the annex to this document.

Different nestboxes for different birds

Birds are, of course, not the only kind of vertebrates we find at Domein Oogenlust. Amphibians like brown frog, toad and newts are very common in and near our ponds. In our forest and meadows we find rabbits, moles and various species of mice.

12 4. Conservation impact assessment

Stakeholder consultation Oogenlust is owner of the land that is used party for nature conservation and partly commercial activities. Therefore we can use the land within these set boundaries without to much worry. However we do keep in close contact with the local government (municipality Eersel). Our goal is to get them to change the way they manage their lands around Domein Oogenlust. This way the direct environment can be one hotspot for native species.

We do not have other landowning stakeholders in the vicinity of our domain that we regard as important in the context of this conservation management plan as they don’t have a direct influence nor can they force us to change what we are doing.

We do have some stakeholders that can influence our conservation management. The most important person that has influence on our conservation management is Roel Winters. Roel has guided us through the setup of our nature management and is still helping us to fine-tune the nature at Domein Oogenlust. Roel visits Domein Oogenlust a few times per year to check up on our progress. We can also contact him anytime if we encounter any challenges.

Other stakeholders are people that visit Domein Oogenlust. We are a company that uses Domein Oogenlust to attract people. Therefore we need to keep in touch with these stakeholders, our visitors and costumers and try to keep the domain in a condition that pleases them and makes them want to come back. These stakeholders can be divided in two groups: our customers and the local people who don’t necessary use our shop but do use the domain and talk about it. Both their opinions will be influenced by the state the domain is in, and that will influence the way Oogenlust is viewed. To prevent a negative opinion, which will eventually influence the development of Oogenlust, we need to keep the domain in good condition within the boundaries we have chosen. Since Oogenlust is a florist and decorator, aesthetics is something we value highly. However, it is also something we will be judged upon. People won’t hire us to decorate their place if we can’t take care of our own.

We communicate with our stakeholders though our shop, our website (www.oogenlust.com) and a newsletter people can sign up for. The Oogenlust website has a separate section for to Domein Oogenlust. We also have a newsletter that gives updates on the development of the domain. Our website is connected through various social media like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter to make our stakeholders alert on regular updates about the domain. To further include our stakeholders we organise events on the domain in which we include short walking tours through the domain. We use these to explain what we are doing and why things are the way they are. At a few spots on the domain we have placed signs that explain things about the domain. Our future plan is to further integrate and expand both these things. We are setting up little events that specify on a theme, for example butterflies or birds. We are also developing extra signs that give more information about specific sites on the domain. For example a sign that gives information about the special breed of sheep we have grazing on the domain.

13 SWOT analysis Helpful Possibly Harmful Internal Strengths Weaknesses - Vast knowledge about - Time. Because at peaks in workload we nature within the struggle to find time to do the necessary company because a lot maintenance at the right moment. of employees have a - Funds. Since the project is mainly funded ‘green’ education by Oogenlust there is always the debate background about whether the money should be - Many creative invested in nature or in something else. employees means lots of idea’s - Time. Because of a varying workload we have moments when there are plenty skilled people available to do the work. External Opportunity’s Threads - Close to a NGO owned - Invasive species. In the area are a few and a protected invasive species that we need to keep conservation area. controlling. - Close to major roads - It is important that the visitors keep which makes it easy to appreciating Domein Oogenlust. Domein receive visitors Oogenlust works as template for what we - No stakeholders that are capable of. can force us to change - Unwanted visitors. Over the last years we the way we use our have experienced that we do get some land. unwanted visitors during late hours. At the moment they only leave rubbish but we don’t want this to escalate into other, more problematic activities. - Domein Oogenlust is seated in a relatively rural environment. This means that other land users like farmers and other home owners also influence our environment. For example by planting invasive species or using more aggressive chemicals. Both can move to our land and influence the state it is in.

Our strengths are mainly based on the fact that we are part of a creative and green work environment. Many of our employees and other people in our network have the quality’s that can contribute to the further development of Domein Oogenlust. We should also have the time to use these quality’s, but the availability of time is also one of our biggest challenges. Oogenlust has a few peaks in workload every year. Sometimes this will clash when the nature at Domein Oogenlust needs our attention as well.

14 We use and will keep using the opportunities that our unique location gives us. We organize special events at Domein Oogenlust and have the capacity to have large groups visit Domein Oogenlust. We use well designed signs to attract people to Domein Oogenlust. The treads we face are of a more diverse nature. Since we are located in an agricultural area we have to take into account that our efforts in creating an nature hotspot are always challenged by the way other landowners in the area use their lands. Because these are mainly traditional agricultural monocultures the will influence the flora and fauna that can reach Domein Oogenlust. We keep in contact with our closest neighbors. Of course we cannot make them change their way of using their land. We can however let them know what we are doing at Domein Oogenlust and how their behavior influences our nature. We are working on camera surveillance and fencing of more of the area to deal with the unwanted visitors. It will however be very hard to completely stop this from happening. We also keep listening to our customers and visitors to know where we might have to make changes. One example is that people told us that it was hard to see that Domein Oogenlust houses a florist. We have planted about 12000 bulbs that should start flowering at the end of the 2017/2018 winter and will keep flowering till late autumn. We hope that this attracts the attention of customers and visitors. These plants should regenerate themselves so we should have a similar flowering area every year. The invasive species we encounter at Domein Oogenlust will always be a challenge but we will keep working on them every year and should be able to keep them in control.

Planning Apart from our standard management we have some plans we would like to do in the next 5 to 10 years. We will try to acquire more art to exhibit at Domein Oogenlust. Ideally we would like to add at least one piece every year. We are also still filling in parts of the terrain. We will be planting about 100 meter of new hedges in the winter of 2017. We will also manage the hedges we already have. We don’t prune the hedges much, we fold them so they become more compact. We have to wait for the plants to settle before we can do this. These dense hedges are an ideal nesting and hiding spot for many bird species. Another big plan we have is to integrate Domein Oogenlust with the neighboring nature areas owned by other organizations to create on big biodiverse hotspot. This means that we will have to get in touch with Natuurmonument and the municipality of Eersel. We are not in a hurry to do this at the moment since we want to focus on Domein Oogenlust first and make sure that we are satisfied about the progress there.

5. Conservation actions and monitoring

Getting the land in the right condition for this goal required a lot of effort because the land had been in use as a nursery for several decades. This means that the land had been fertilised regularly and was used to grow non-native species. Oogenlust wants to bring the land back to the state it was at the early 20th century.

Conservation objectives. Our target for the future is to keep seeing an increase in the number of species that we count at Domein Oogenlust, in particular butterfly species. The Netherlands knows 52 different species of butterfly of whom 16 are extinct in the Netherlands and about 24 species are common. At the moment we have only seen 14 different, very common species on our domain. This means that is should be very possible to at least house all common species of butterfly at Domein Oogenlust and hopefully we will be able to attract some of the more vulnerable species as well.

Conservation actions To improve biodiversity and in particular for butterflies we have a conservation plan. This plan leans on 3 pillars, which are: grazing and mowing management, controlling unwanted species and stimulating wanted species.

15 Grazing and mowing management The open fields on the domain need maintaining because they would turn into roughness and forest if we would leave them to their own devices. This is not a bad thing for nature but it does not necessarily improve biodiversity. To keep the fields open we use grazing and mowing at specific moments. In the first months of the growth season (February till April) we don’t allow the sheep on the open areas to give the vegetation time to develop. We house the sheep in a designated field on the domain during these months. From May onwards we selectively use the sheep to graze certain areas to improve variation in vegetation, we use rotational grazing. This means that the sheep get a fixed field and for a specific amount of time (generally 2 or 3 weeks) they only graze that bit of land. This way of grazing forces the sheep to eat all that grows in their field and prevents them from picking the best bits out and therefore influencing the growth of some species more than the growth of other species. Every bit of land gets grazed a maximum of times every year, of which once after we have mowed. This means we use an extensive way of grazing to allow time for natural processes to develop.

The mowing management involves that we have no major mowing activities until mid-October. Postponing the mowing gives both the flora and the fauna time to develop. Flowers have the time to produce and spread their seeds, insects have time to complete their life cycles and birds have time to nest and take care of the next generation. In other words, we want the natural processes to take place before we interfere. The only reason we do interfere is that we want to remove nutrients from the soil. To remove the nutrient we make sure that we collect all the cuttings after we have mowed. We don’t use any machines that mulch the vegetation. A les fertile soil can supports a greater variety of species because it is not possible for rampant species to take over and suppress all other species.

After we have mowed we allow the sheep to graze the lands again. Because we mow after mid- October, the only species that still significantly grows till the first frosts are grass species. We use the sheep to keep the grasses in control so they don’t have too much of an advantage once the growth season starts in spring. This way we allow the herbs a better chance to develop on much of the land.

16 Controlling unwanted species Not all species are equally valued at Domein Oogenlust. Controlling these species is another part of our conservation plan. We only actively control the flora. Since we are in a very public area we cannot actively hunt non-native macro fauna like birds, and we don’t control the invertebrates since we don’t want to use pesticides.

We divided the floral species in three categories. First there are the nonnative species. We actively control these species and we try not to have any of these at Domein Oogenlust. Examples are Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and Asian Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). The second category contains native species that tend to rampage and compete heavily with other species or species that are harmful for our animals. Examples are Blackberry (Rubus sp.), Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), Bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and Ragwort (). All these species have positive and negative properties. Some of them are for example important hosts for . We allow a limited amount of these species on Domein Oogenlust but keep them in control so they don’t take over the vegetation.

Photo by: Claude Smekens.

The last group are all other native species, we welcome those and stimulate their growth by seeding them and clearing away species from category one and two to make space for these species. The methods we use for controlling the vegetation are as less invasive as possible. Most of the weeding is done by hand, but for some species we need to use some more harmful methods. For example Creeping Thistle makes a lot of underground roots that keep growing even after pulling out the plant. For these species we use ecologically friendly herbicides. These products do kill the plants but don’t leave any residue. We only use these if mechanical methods don’t work.

Stimulating wanted species Besides stimulating wanted flora, through seeding and making sure that there is not to much competition, we also stimulate wanted fauna. We do this by creating habitats that should attract the correct sort of animals. An example of this is the shrub we planted to provide for many birds and insects. We also leave dead wood laying around, make sure we don’t mow everything at the same time and create artificial nesting areas. This way we try to gain as many species as possible.

17 Every now and then we will attract some unwanted guests, for example we do have some Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) as a guest on our pond. Since we are in a very public area there is not much we can do about this than protect the native birds by giving them places to hide.

Monitoring Since 2016 we work with the Dutch butterfly association (Vlinderstichting). At Domein Oogenlust we set up a count route for butterflies. Every year, between the 1st of April and the 30th of September we walk this set route regularly and count all the butterflies we see with the standardized method used by the Butterfly association. This way we monitor the diversity and abundance of butterfly species. Our data is comparable with other test routes. Over the years we hope to see an increase in biodiversity and we will monitor this by tracking the number of butterfly species. Because we count every year over an extended time, we take into account that not all species are active at the same time. As a baseline we will use the results of the last two years.

The table below shows the species counted within the given year, and the number of individuals per species.

Species 2016 2017 Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) 2 Small White (Pieris rapae) 6 8 Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) 1 3 Brown argus (Aricia agestis) 1 Map (Araschnia Levana) 1 1 Common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) 2 2 European peacock (Aglais io) 5 Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) 2 Large skipper (Ochlodes Sylvanus) 1 Large white (Pieris brassicae) 1 (Coenonympha pamphilus) 10 Common blue butterfly ( Icarus) 11 Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) 1 Small copper ( phlaeas) 2 Number butterfly counted 13 47 Number of butterfly species counted 6 12 Table 1 Counted species of butterfly Number of species of butterfly

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0 2016 2017

Figure 6 graphic view of the development of the number of butterfly species

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As shown in the figures above, we have already seen a 100% increase in the number of known butterfly species at Domein Oogenlust. However there are some things we have to take into account. We are just starting with using this method so it might be that we have made some mistakes in using the method and determining the correct species of butterfly. We are however coached by a very experienced butterfly specialist. Last year has shown that we are definitely on the correct track. The last two years we have also not been counting as frequent as we would like to. At the moment the frequency is once every 4 weeks. We would like to increase this to at least once every 2 weeks and ideally once every week. Even though there is some discussion about the results, it is safe to say that the number of butterfly species is already increasing. Also, as a baseline, these data are very usable, they are obtained by using a standardized method and are therefore reusable for the next years.

Over the next years we hope to add some extra monitoring tools. We are now in contact with a bird specialist to set up a program for monitoring which species of birds we find at Domein Oogenlust. We also want to look into monitoring the flora to see how our management influences the flora at Domein Oogenlust. We will need to set up a program for this as well and are planning to have this worked out in 2018.

Reporting The results we get from our butterfly track will be communicated with the Dutch butterfly association every year at the end of the season. They will than use our data in their reports on the development of the butterfly abundance in the Netherlands. We will publish their statistics combined with our results on our website and our newsletter. This way we reach a large proportion of people that are interested in Oogenlust. We will also communicate our results with the VCA board. Every year we will evaluate the developments and decide if we need to make changes in our nature management.

19 Annex

Annex 1 Adult species in the forest. Below is a list of the most common adult species in our forest. - English oak (Quercus robur) - Scots pine (Pinus sylvesteris) - Field maple (Acer campestre) - Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) - Birch (Betula padula and Betula pubescens) - Blackberry (Rubus sp.) - Common holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Annex 2 Species planted in the shrubs. The list below shows the species used to form the newly planted shrub. - European beech (Fagus sylvatica) - European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) - English oak (Quercus robur) - Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus) - Dog-rose (Rosa canina) - Spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus) - Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) - Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) - Blackthorn (Prunus spinose) - Field maple (Acer campestre) - Hackberry (Prunus padus) - Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) - Shadbush (Amelanchier ovalis)

Annex 3 Meadow species The list below contains many of the species found in the meadows. Take note that this list only contains native and non-invasive species. In other words, these are the species we stimulate and maintain. - Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) - Primrose (Oenothera sp.) - Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - Bittercress (Barbera vulgaris) - Brown knapweed ( jacea) - Wild carrot (Daucus carota) - Autumn hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis) - Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) - Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata) - Brownwort (Prunella vulgaris) - Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris) - Meadow goat’s-beard (Tragopogon pratensis) - Charlock (Sinapis arvensis) - Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) - Common rush (Juncus effusus) - Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) - Rough hawksbeard (Crepis biennis) - Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare)

20 - Pinweed (Erodium cicutarium) - Hedge bedstraw (Galium mollugo) - Smooth hawkweed (Hieracium laevigatum) - Northern hawkweed (Hieracium umbellatum) - St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) - Catsear (Hypochaeris radicata) - Sheep’s bit scabious (Jasione montana) - Sweep’s brush (Luzula campestris) - Musk mallow (Malva moschata) - Hare’s-foot clover (Trifolium arvense) - Red champion (Silene dioica)

Annex 4 Semi aquatic plants The list below contains the plants seeded on the banks of our newly created freshwater ecosystem. - Wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris) - Bittercress (Barbera vulgaris) - Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) - Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) - Marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) - Common marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis) - Marsh helleborine (Epipactis palustris) - Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) - Spotted St. Johnswort (Hypericum maculatum) - Big trefoil (Lotus pedunculatus) - Ragged-Robin (Lychnis flos-coculi) - Gypsywort (Lycopus europaeus) - Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) - Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) - Water mint (Mentha aquatic) - Brownwort (Prunella vulgaris) - Common fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) - Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris) - Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) - Common meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum) - Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Annex 5 Fauna that can be found on Domein Oogenlust The lists below contain fauna that has already been seen at Domein Oogenlust. Butterflies - Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - European peacock (Aglais io) - Common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) - Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) - Large white (Pieris brassicae) - Small white (Pieris rapae) - Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) - Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) - Map (Araschnia levana) - Comma (Polygonia c-albu) - Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)

21 - Common blue (Polyommatus icarus) - Silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) - (Tyria jacobaeae) - Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Dragon- and Damselflies - Blue emperor (Anax imperator) - Black tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) - Broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) - Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) - Blue tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Birds - Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - Great tit (Parus major) - Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) - House martin (Delichon urbicum) - Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Wagtail (Motacilla alba) - Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - Blackbird (Turdus merula) - Grey partridge (Perdix perdix) - Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) - Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) - Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Eurasian coot (Fulica atra)

22 References

CBS. (2015, Augustus 5). Weidevogels in duikvlucht. Opgeroepen op November 21, 2017, van Website CBS: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2015/32/weidevogels- in-duikvlucht

CBS. (2016, October 10). Buterfly populations show signs of tentative recovery. Opgeroepen op November 21, 2017, van CBS: https://www.cbs.nl/en- gb/news/2016/10/butterfly-populations-showing-signs-of-tentative-recovery

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