Environmental compensation Belvédère Maastricht
Belvédère Maastricht has many surprising residents who thrive in the various nature reserves the area has to offer. And we strive to keep all animals in our area. That's why several new habitats have been created throughout the Belvédère area, and numerous facilities have been built for the animals present.
From twig woods to bat house
Slow worms, badgers, foxes, natterjack toads, bats and wall lizards. These are all special creatures that are very much at home in the Belvédère area. And of course we are doing everything we can to keep it that way. In recent years, debris ridges have been created to accommodate the wall lizards, twig woods for slow worms, pools for the natterjack toads and underpasses and tunnels for lizards, slow worms and badgers. The dry moat underneath the Cabergerweg is largely finished off with a so-called 'ecowall' where wall lizards can thrive. And in the Lage Fronten, the former harbourmaster's house is transformed into a real bat house. Learn more about the amazing inhabitants of Belvédère Maastricht in our leaflet 'Het groene Belvédère' (in Dutch).
Nature benefits through Noorderbrugroute
The rerouting of the Noorderbrug landfall has resulted in the most nature benefits. After all, it was precisely the construction of the new infrastructure that freed up space to connect the Hoge and Lage Fronten to form the more than twenty-hectare Frontenpark. Coloured LED lighting has been installed along the entire Belvédèrelaan, to reduce the disturbance for bats. And that's not all: in the entire Belvédère area no less than 596 new trees have been planted due to the new Noorderbrug route, 3000 metres of new hedges, 3714 m2 of ground covering plants, 1100 m2 of oak hornbeam forest and 12,000 square metres of shrubs consisting of 15,269 separate plants.
Ecological management in the Frontenpark
Since the summer of 2019 the Frontenpark is open to residents and visitors of Maastricht. The rough and rugged park is a counterpart to the neat and tidy city park on the south side of the city centre. And that will not change: in the Frontenpark, flora and fauna in the parts with high nature values comes first. In the coming years, biodiversity will increase even more, thanks to smart ecological management by the CNME (Centre for Nature and Environment Education).
From landfill to sustainable solution
Traditionally, various (municipal) landfills have been present in the Bosscherveld industrial site. Step by step, we transfer these plots of land to Bodemzorg Limburg, which manages the landfills and, where possible, gives them a new sustainable use. The best example of this is the former landfill on the Belvédèreberg. By the end of 2020, solar panels will be used to generate energy, walking routes with phenomenal views run across the Belvédèreberg and facilities have been installed for rare animals such as the wall lizard and the slow worm.
The Bee Collective
Between P Frontenpark and the entrance to the Lage Fronten stands the Sky Hive Solar: a large yellow pole with a beehive on top. The Sky Hive Solar was financed through the 'Adopt a Bee, Honey!' crowdfunding project initiated by the Bee Collective. The aim was to give both bees and beekeepers a visible place in the heart of the city. With the Sky Hive Solar it is possible to keep bees in the community without stinging passers-by. At the same time the bees are safe from possible hooliganism. Frontenpark honey is for sale at Coöperation Gedeelde Weelde.
The green Belvédère in pictures
Thanks to our photographers Fred Berghmans and Jonathan Vos we have an extensive collection of photographs of the Frontenpark and surroundings. From wall lizards to large swans: animals thrive in the Frontenpark.