The Sept Fontaines Nature Reserve in Grand-Hallet, in the Liège province, was officially inaugurated on Sunday morning.
Local authorities, with partners Natagora, Natawal and numerous property owners, embarked on the rehabilitation in 2022. Now the natural site of Sept Fontaines, extends over 13 hectares.
Once brimming with abundant biodiversity, features like still waters, dry reed beds, ruderal scrubs, alder-ash woods and alluvial meadows were present up to a century ago. However, urbanisation and intensified land use changed this.
Refurbishments aimed to restore the moist prairie habitats, to aid the growth of species like the common snipe, jack snipe, and winter teal.
The restoration of a mosaic of sixteen ponds will allow the flourishing of amphibians and dragonflies.
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Also, the development of three large reed-fringed ponds should encourage the return of aquatic birds like the marsh harrier, great egret and kingfisher.
A riverside corridor of specific plantings was designed alongside the brooks. Invasive vegetation was removed, often with the help of citizens involved in communal clean-up operations at the site.
“A lot of the land has been purchased by public authorities, while some remain with farmers who have pledged to cultivate under conditions favouring the reserve’s protection,” Hannut Mayor Manu Douette told Belga agency.
“This project integrates several actions for our environment, including the preservation of the Mehaigne outskirts in Moxhe. And we aim to buy additional regional plots along the bypass to reforest the city’s entrance,” Douette said.
