Week of the Forest closes with record attendance in Sonian Forest
The 32nd Week of the Forest was concluded festively in the Sonian Forest in the presence of Flemish Minister for Environment and Nature Joke Schauvliege. For the first time in the history of Week of the Forest, over 7,000 forest lovers went to the final event, which was also the Gezinsbond (Family Union) family day.
The Week of the Forest began last Sunday with beautiful autumn weather. The planned activities were a great success. During this week, there were over 200 activities in more than a third of all Flemish communities. With the slogan “fragrances and shades”, the focus of the Week of the Forest was on the subject of biodiversity.
Increasing support for forest
The wide range of activities and the biodiversity of forest and nature areas attracted many visitors. Over a thousand people visited Drongengoed (Knesselare) and Bosland (Overpelt). As usual, mainly school children visited the forests on weekdays.
At the closing event (ge)Zin in Zoniën! on Sunday 17 October, the Sonian Forest welcomed over 7,000 visitors. This was the first time that the Week of the Forest united so many people to enjoy a forest in one location. This record is thanks to the cooperation with the Gezinsbond. This Flemish union aims for a child- and family-friendly society, and coincided its family day with the final event of the week of the Forest.
“By organising our annual family day in the forest, the Gezinsbond wishes to emphasise that a healthy, liveable environment – and therefore also enough forest and nature areas – is a major condition for a high quality family life”, says Marc Decloedt of the Family Union. “Forests and nature offer an ideal environment where children can play outside and enjoy themselves. Playing in nature is of great importance to promote creativity. Due to several environmental effects, forests create a healthy society: clean air, CO2 storage, water buffering, shade, etc.”
Forest growth and more accessibility
Flemish Minister for Environment and Nature Joke Schauvliege emphasises that Flanders continues to aim for forest growth, for which she is taking several measures. “This year, I will activate the forest compensation fund for the municipalities via a project group for integral afforestation projects. The focus will lie on the development of forests at the edge of towns and on reinforcing local forest expansion initiatives. I also aim to continue the extremely successful One Million Trees campaign in 2011.”
During the past year, 3000 hectare of forest was added. A lot was also realised for the accessibility of forests: “In 2009, 90 hectares of additional playing areas was designated in forests and many new forest paths were created, amounting to 37 kilometres of additional walking pleasure in the Flemish forests”, says Marleen Evenepoel, Administrator-General of the Flemish Environment Agency.
“The fact that the Gezinsbond in Flanders is highlighting the importance of forests for a high quality society indicates that there is more support in Flanders for forests than is sometimes thought. In addition, the Sonial Forest is visited by large numbers of cyclists and walkers, which indicates that enough and proper access to forests are an absolute must” says Bert De Somviele Organisation for Forests in Flanders (VBV).
