10 more football pitches of new forest in Friesland: results for 2024-2025

Along with nature organisation It Fryske Gea, we’ve expanded the beautiful nature reserve Ketliker Skar, close to Heerenveen, by 10.5 hectares of new forest. Thanks to your donations, nearly 16,000 trees were planted! By doing so, we’re expanding the habitat of creatures like the raven, the badger, the wolf and the tawny owl. And we’re ensuring a climate-proof forest for today’s generation and those of the future. So how are the young trees doing now?

Why we planted new forests in Friesland

In the Ketliker Skar nature reserve, you find forests alternating with moors, grasslands and water. Thanks to this varied nature, all sorts of animals and plants feel at home there. They include golden orioles, black woodpeckers, goldcrests, pine martens, badgers, tawny owls and various bats.

However, not all parts of the area are equally healthy and resilient. Many old forests consist of fir trees that were once planted for the production of wood. These monoculture forests are vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, such as drought, disease and pests. This is why we’re helping the Frisian landscape organisation It Fryske Gea to expand the Ketliker Skar with new forests consisting of many different species.

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.

In this way, we’re reinforcing the existing nature in the Ketliker Skar and providing more habitats for animals and plants. In short, we’re creating a future-proof forest for people and nature!

Corporate donors helped with planting this winter in Ketliker Skar

What approach did we take?

We planted 10.5 hectares of new forest on former agricultural land adjacent to the Ketliker Skar. In addition, three grasslands within the existing nature reserve have been transformed into forest. In total, that’s almost 10 football pitches of new nature!

Before the trees were planted, It Fryske Gea first ploughed the soil and then worked it with a rotary cultivator. This ensures a better soil structure with enough nutrients, so that the trees and shrubs will be able to root easily and rain water will be retained better.

We didn’t plant the trees on our own, however. On a sunny planting day, our enthusiastic corporate donors came along to help and planted hundreds of trees. The other locations were planted later on by machine. So the whole area is now a nice mix of deciduous trees and shrubs.

How are the trees doing?

The planting process was quite a challenge. So much rain fell in the winter that the soil became very boggy and we had to postpone planting several times. In the end, however, we succeeded in planting all 15,984 trees and shrubs.

This was followed by an extremely dry spring. Fortunately, there was still enough moisture in the ground, so the young trees and shrubs got off to a good start. Up to now, nearly all the trees have survived and hardly any have been lost.

Even better: a great many extra species are growing spontaneously. During our field visit last summer, we saw larch, holly, oak, heather and young birch trees coming up from seeds that have come in from the surrounding forest. That’s a good sign that nature has found its way to the new forest!

To protect the saplings, It Fryske Gea surrounded the planting locations with a fence of over two metres high. This will prevent wildlife gnawing at the young trees. Once the trees are big enough, which will take at least seven years, the fence will be removed.

From badger to tawny owl: more habitats for woodland animals

Through this project, we’re expanding not only the surface area of the forests in Friesland, but also the biodiversity. In total, we planted more than 25 different species that are well suited to the area, ranging from alder, hornbeam, small-leaved lime and wild cherry to blackthorn, alder buckthorn, holly, crab apple and even juniper. Many of these species flower profusely and provide a real feast for insects!

This variety of tree species also attracts other creatures, such as birds, mammals and small mammals. There are already ravens brooding in the Ketliker Skar, there’s a badger’s sett and a wolf has even been spotted. We hope the new forest will soon also be home to rare species like the eagle owl, red kite and black stork.

It Fryske Gea is actively monitoring the development of the flora and fauna, so that we can closely follow the positive effects of the new forest in the coming years.

Tree planters – thank you!

We’d never have been able to do all this without your donations. Thanks to you, a forest is now growing that will benefit both people and nature. If you’re near Ketliker Skar any time soon, put on your walking shoes and go exploring. Who knows – you might spot a raven or hear a badger rustling in the distance!