Star-shaped forest restored at Landgoed Zuylestein: results for 2024-2025

Following a devastating fall wind in 2021, the star-shaped forest at Landgoed Zuylestein has been restored and is now stronger than ever. Over the past years, Trees for All and the Twickel Foundation have worked hard on restoring this special monumental forest in Leersum. Thanks to the support of our partner Hotels for Trees, the last trees have now been planted. So how is the restored forest doing at the moment?

Severe weather wreaks havoc on Landgoed Zuylestein

Maybe you still remember when severe weather conditions hit the Netherlands in June 2021. In a short space of time, a fall wind destroyed a great deal of the star-shaped forest at Landgoed Zuylestein in Leersum. It was a hard blow, as the star-shaped forest had been around since the 18^th century.

With the support of Hotels for Trees, we could get to work on the restoration of this monumental forest. Over the past three years, a total of 11,500 trees and shrubs have been planted, spread all over the country estate, which is managed by the Twickel Foundation.

Fallen trees and damage to the forest after the windstorm in 2021

Restoring a star-shaped forest: what approach did we take?

A star-shaped forest is a special forest design, in which several avenues radiate from one central point to the edges, forming a star shape. In order to restore this historic pattern, 814 new beeches were planted in avenues. Not only will these trees form the backbone of the star-shaped forest, but they will also provide habitats for bats, fungi and mosses.

In addition, the parts of the forest that were lost have been replanted with native species that are well suited to the surroundings, such as beech, sycamore, European white elm, small-leaved lime, English oak, hazel, sweet chestnut, hornbeam, rowan and bird cherry. This creates a varied and future-proof forest.

 When planting the common limes, an irrigation system was installed for longer dry spells, which are becoming more and more frequent due to climate change

A mixed forest is much stronger than forests consisting of just one or a few species of tree. If one species gets into difficulties, then the other tree species keep the forest going. Moreover, a varied deciduous forest is less prone to forest fires, retains water better and enriches the soil.

A typical feature of Landgoed Zuylestein is the coppice, which we have also restored. This is an ancient form of forest management for harvesting timber. Proper coppicing creates more light and space for young trees to grow, and the wood coppiced is then used for sustainable purposes. In this case, it’s used as fencing or stakes in the estate’s vegetable garden.

How are the trees doing now?

617 limes were planted along the avenues, whereby the soil was enriched and an irrigation system was installed with its own groundwater pump. This means the young trees are looking great and they’ll be able to survive the dry summer. The Twickel Foundation is maintaining the trees through pruning and by whitewashing the trunks to prevent heat stress.

At a planting day, enthusiastic partners from Hotels for Trees joined us in planting hundreds of trees and shrubs in the forest plots in between the avenue trees. These trees are also looking good and are now poking up above the weeds.

To prevent deer gnawing at them, the trunks are wrapped in sheep’s wool – a natural and effective protection. Thanks to this approach, tree loss remained minimal. Moreover, we used an innovative planting method to avoid the soil and soil life being disturbed. This kept losses to under 1%.

The restored star forest in August 2025 (Photos: Trudelies de Graaf)

Good for biodiversity

We deliberately opted for native tree species and those typical of the region. The greater the variety of species, the more plants and animals will feel at home in these woods, such as foxes, deer and badgers.

The avenue trees, for example, are limes, which flower profusely with fragrant blossom, providing insects with nectar over a long period. In the past, limes more or less disappeared from the Utrechtse Heuvelrug (Utrecht Hill Ridge), so we’re bringing back a species that used to be much more common in the landscape.

And we’re seeing the first rewards, as special wildlife has already been spotted on the estate, including badgers, wolves, great crested newts, black woodpeckers, golden orioles, goldfinches and wrynecks. Dead wood has also been left standing, as it is very useful in the forest, providing homes for all sorts of insects and other creatures.

One highlight was the discovery of a great crested newt, during the amphibian pilot carried out by CropMix in partnership with RAVON. This rare species is on the Red List and is protected under the Environment and Planning Act. The fact that it’s settled here shows that the restored forest and surrounding landscape are already providing a valuable habitat.