Hangvennen

There are unique fens in the nature area of the Schutterspark. The so-called hanging fens. This nature reserve, 400 meters long and 150 meters wide, has been home to a flora and fauna unique to European standards since it was restored in 2007. A 200 meter long platform bridge makes the area accessible to visitors again. Hikers can enter the hanging pools without the risk of getting their feet wet. At the same time, this means that vulnerable nature is better protected against visitors. Suspended fens arise on slopes where sources bubble up in various places and where the composition of the soil and the terrain means that the water can only seep away slowly.

Because the soil in the Schutterspark consists of Miocene sand and is very nutrient-poor, over time a flora and fauna has developed in the poor but swampy soil that occurs nowhere else in the Netherlands and is also hardly found in the rest of Europe. . The rare plant species include various orchid species. Also special is the combination of heath and heather. Protected animal species that occur in the hanging fen are the common frog, the crested newt and the gentian blue, a butterfly species.