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VCA Management plan Ecovillage Boekel 1

Ecovillage Boekel How to raise biodiversity locally in 10 years

Verified Conservation Area Management plan

Submitted by

Ad Vlems Ecovillage Boekel

Boekel March, 2018

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Table of Contents

Introduction 5 Business case 5

A. Overview of the conservation area 6 A 1. Description of project and project area 6

A 1.1 Conservation plans 6 A 2. Area characteristics 7

A 2.1 The area 7 A 2.2 Area Management 10

A 3. Area manager 11

B. Biodiversity baseline conditions 13

C. Conservation impact assessment 14 C 1. General biodiversity overview 14 C 2. Maps 15 C 3. Conservation SWOT analysis: 16 C 4. Stakeholder consultation 16

D. Expected Conservation Impact and Stakeholders 17 D1 Biodiversity – Impacts 17 D2 Stakeholder management 20

E. Conservation actions & monitoring 21

F. References 22

G. Signatures 23

Annexes 24


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Introduction It was 2003 when I (Ad Vlems) worked at ECNC, the European Centre for Nature Conservation (the Netherlands) and read that in Chili a river had dried up, because the glacier which supplied the water, had melted. Half a million people had to move to another area or the city.

When I became a father, I wanted to give my son the same chances I had when I was a child. I knew humankind had to face the problems it had created and change its way of living, producing and consuming. We need to, to survive as a species. Because glaciers all over the world are melting, biodiversity is rapidly decreasing, and we are using much more than the Earth can provide us with.

That’s the start of Ecovillage Boekel. Our goal is simple: We want to prove humans can live sustainably in balance with its surroundings.

Business case

In general: We have created an organisation (Ecodorp Boekel) that will lend money to buy the land and the building materials. Together the ecovillagers will build their houses and then rent them. The rent will be enough to pay back the loan with interest and keep some for maintenance and new investments.

The VCA business case: The lending part is the difficult part as banks need to make a risk analysis for any investment and it’s impossible to do a risk analysis for a project as innovative and diverse as ours.

For registering our terrain at the VCA Platform we are required to make this conservation management plan. Thus plan helps us to be accountable for funding organisations and investors. It makes our ecological added value measurable. Already this resulted in the commitment of the National Greenfund to finance all our innovative green elements. The conservation budget for the first three years is about € 20.000.

Each ecovillager invests two days per week in the development of the ecovillage. About five people work in the food area. Another part of the business case are the five tree houses. The yearly income will be used to pay back loans from banks and investors. They are also a means for visitors to taste the ecovillage life and see how people can live in balance with nature.


A. Overview of the conservation area

A 1. Description of project and project area

A unique, inspiring example for sustainable living in connection with our surroundings.

In Ecovillage Boekel we will cater our needs in a very sustainable way. By doing so, we will contribute solutions for climate change, environmental pollution and exhaustion of natural resources, in close cooperation with our (natural) surroundings.

Our goal is a (mostly) self-supporting village when it comes to energy, water and a large part of our food. It will be financially supported by the rent of our houses and by the sustainable enterprises that we start. Everything will be done in accordance with our ambitious vision and mission, and will be completely fossil free.

Ecovillage Boekel will act as a Living Lab, a real-life test and experimentation environment for a sustainable future. Ecovillagers will be users and producers and will co-create innovation and foster user-driven open innovation.

A 1.1 Conservation plans In 2018 we plan to start with building the first circle of 10 houses. We plan to build 3 circles over the next five years. In the middle of each circle we want to have a biodiversity garden with insect hotel, with herb spirals and a variety of flowers. Also there will be nesting possibilities for different kinds of species we focus on protecting. The houses will be covered with green roofs and probably we will even have vertical gardens against part of the walls. We are going to try and raise biodiversity at every level of the ecosystem, but concentrate on caring for some, rather vulnerable species groups: bats, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, other insects and birds. For each species group we will cooperate with a relevant organisation (our stakeholder) and ask them: - To select one or two key indicator species from that species group for us to focus on. - Advice on how to arrange for their specific needs in our area.

http://www.ecovillageboekel.nl/the-village/http://www.ecovillageboekel.nl/our-mission/


- How to monitor them. - What the number of individuals is we

can expect after 10 years. This will be the 100% goal we will be aiming for.

- If they are interested to monitor species development on a yearly base.

- Advice on education and PR. - This is what we aim to do with each

species group. For each species group we will make an information board on site. To demonstrate improvement of each species (e.g. numbers) the poles have a scale of marks. At the start of the project the boards begin low, 0 (in numbers or %). Each year our stakeholder will count the species and put the board on the right height, to show improvement to our visitors. One board will explain the goals of the VCA Register and benefits of VCA registration. Each species will also get an up-to-date webpage at our website (www.ecovillageboekel.nl) , and a dedicated management plan attached to this VCA management plan. In addition to the above, we also want to improve the soil flora and fauna in the area we live and work TV Exposure In the two years we live on the area, we have been part of three national TV documentaries, one of them was totally about us and lasted half an hour. We are certain we will be on TV a lot when we build the permanent houses and live there. We want to do at least one of the upcoming interviews in front of the information boards.

A 2. Area characteristics

A 2.1 The area

1. Map of the area to be proposed for the VCA-Register - Light green is for three circles of 10 houses each and other buildings - Dark green is for food production (food forest)

http://www.ecovillageboekel.nl/


2. Short general description Building area Until recently the land we designated for the houses was used for agriculture. Its soil can be considered dead: no earthworms or other species that characterize a healthy soil, probably due to lack of ground cover and usage of pesticides for decades. Biodiversity zero! Food area The land we plan to use as our Food area was ‘nature’ when we arrived; also poor soil conditions, but no usage of pesticides. The plants that were sown were cultivated to attract bees. Both areas were dry; ground water level was -1.75 metre at its highest. Currently 18 adults and 8 children live about 100 metres from the area in temporary homes (see map).

Ecological Network

The forest connected to the Food area is part of the National Ecological Network and being converted from a pine-dominated forest into broadleaved and more natural vegetation.

Food

Building

Temporary


3. Geographic coordinates for the site are: 51°35' N - 5°40' E

4. Area size in hectares: 2,0 ha: 0.7 ha Food forest and tree houses, and 1.2 ha Building area

Ecovillage Boekel


A 2.2 Area Management Building area The current management of the building area is a ‘no dig’ policy, with exception of digging the natural pool. We allow all pioneer plants to grow, except thistle on request of the neighbour (dairy farmer).

To make the building site ready for building (2018), we need to cut back all perennial pioneer plants. Biodiversity will go down near to zero.

Food area

Our goal is to have a climate-proof food garden. Extreme weather like a drought or excessive rain should not result in a complete loss of food production, as we have plants that produce more (or bigger) edible parts because these extremes are their optimal conditions.

We currently have about 80 different plant species and we want to raise that number to a few hundred in the coming years. Various parts of the plants are mainly intended for food production, but also for medicinal use. The enormous variety of plants will greatly enhance local biodiversity and conservation value.

We use two types of farming in the food area:

Biodynamic farming The Food area comprises an inner set of circles containing plant beds that are cultivated with biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture very similar to organic farming, but it includes various concepts drawn from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. It treats soil fertility, plant growth, and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks. Biodynamics has much in common with other organic approaches – it emphasizes the use of manures and composts and excludes the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. Methods unique to the biodynamic approach include its treatment of animals, crops, and soil as a single system, an emphasis from its beginnings on local production and distribution systems, its use of traditional and development of new local breeds and varieties. We also use an astrological sowing and planting calendar. Biodynamic agriculture uses various herbal and mineral additives for compost additives and field sprays.


Permaculture forest garden in outer parts of food area Outside of the inner circles we cultivate perennial plants with Permaculture principles in a Forest garden. Forest gardening is a low-maintenance sustainable plant-based food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers, to build a woodland habitat. Forest gardening is a prehistoric method of securing food in tropical areas. In the 1980s, Robert Hart coined the term "forest gardening" after adapting the principles and applying them to temperate climates.

A 3. Area manager

1. Area manager Contact role: Natural Captain Contact name: Ad Vlems Phone number: 0623543101 E-mail address: [email protected] Address: Klein Rondeel 103, 5427 GB Boekel The Natural Captain is in the current planning stage only one person, but will become a team when the actual building phase starts and the green elements are implemented.

2. Supporting evidence of right to manage the area: We are now in the process of buying the land. We hope to have achieved that in the second quarter of 2018.

3. Name(s) of land owners(s) involved if different from 2) Current owner: Municipality of Boekel The Foundation Ecodorp Boekel will buy the land and finance the building of the 30 houses, the community building, the tree houses, Artist in Residence and any other building. The Association Ecodorp Boekel will unite the ecovillagers who first build and afterwards

mailto:[email protected]


rent the houses to live in. The municipality of Boekel supports the ecovillage in different ways: - First they let the ecovillagers live in temporary houses on the land with only a small rent. The ecovillagers could live next to the building area and plan the ecovillage. - The Alderman gave a pitch about the ecovillage to the regional waterboard, which resulted in a stimulation award of € 10.000 from the regional waterboard to finance the helophyte filter of the ecovillage. - When the municipality heard about the conservation plans they offered to pay for 8 nesting places for bats. Also the same conservation plan to help the bats will be implemented in a new school in Boekel.


B. Biodiversity baseline conditions

The biodiversity baseline conditions set out the starting point against which our conservation actions can be planned, managed and monitored.

In line with IFC Performance Standard 6, the biodiversity baseline conditions assessment, as appropriate to our area, addresses the following topics:

Habitats

Food area

There are about 80 different plant species for food production.

Soil life is starting to come back in the first centimetres of the soil.

One owl nestbox in the tree line since 2017; no owls nesting yet.

Building area No suitable habitat for all selected species.

Invasive alien species

There are zero invasive alien species.

Ecosystem services

Food area This area provides with food for the ecovillagers, about 30% of their needs.

Building area No ecosystem services.

Neighbouring area of the temporary homes of the eco-villagers Helophyte filter present to clean waste water.

Tree line


C. Conservation impact assessment

C 1. General biodiversity overview

Here we provide a general biodiversity overview, including the description of the current situation regarding diversity of ecosystems, habitats and species, etc.

The area under view consists of 2 ha of land on the edge of the village of Boekel. It is situated in the northeastern part of the province of Noord-Brabant, characterized by dry, nutrient poor sandy soils. The plot is surrounded by intensive agricultural land to the east, residential area to the west and south, and a forest (part of the Ecological Network) in the north and northeast.

Until 2014 (3 years ago) the building part of the land was in intensive agricultural use with high levels of fertilisation and pesticide use. It is safe to assume that soil life was almost absent. Since that time the land has been left abandoned with small patches of garden plants and an artificially pond. Meanwhile a relatively diverse pioneer vegetation has established with increasing numbers of perennial native herbs, and also shrubs appear.

Potentially this part of the land will in future evolve into a species-rich rough with patches of shrubs and dispersed trees.

In the northern ¼ of the land a rough meadow is converted in to the food forest, described above. Here a novel ecosystem is created, with many food and medicinal plants brought in. The management is entirely based on permaculture principles, with zero use of pesticides and occasional use of organic fertiliser (horse dung). The variety of species and the type of management will boost local soil biodiversity and attract many native species as co-inhabitants.

In between the northern and southern part a small tree row with undergrowth forms a west-east divide. This tree row largely consists of maple trees Acer pseudoplatanus with undergrowth of Sambucus nigra and herbs. It must be a few tens of years old. This landscape element currently offers the best possibilities for birds and small mammals.

From the conservation point of view we focus on the following species groups (see attachments):

- Bats - Bees - Butterflies - Birds - Insects


C 2. Maps

Building area

Food area (See annex C1 Plants in the Food area for a list of all the plants)

Ecological Network


C 3. Conservation SWOT analysis:

We provide short SWOT analysis: what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (current and future) viz a viz the conservation goals

S - Community ambition to make

something beautiful, sustainable and natural of a degraded plot of land

- Location of the land in vicinity of forest and landscape elements offers opportunity for quick colonisation by native species

- Very promising development of pioneer vegetation

W - Land use history of fertiliser and

pesticide use - Uncertainty of development of

ecovillage and therefore of conservation planning

T - Pressure from development of

surrounding land (residential area) - Average support by local

stakeholders - Lack of stability in management of

vegetation

O - Strong support from local authority - High ambition and enthusiasm of

ecovillage community - Possibility to create a really beautiful

piece of land that local community will cherish and support

How to deal with them, in particular with the threats and risks is explained in depth in the C3 Conservation SWOT analysis annex.

C 4. Stakeholder consultation

Stakeholder engagement is the basis for building strong, constructive, and responsive relationships that are essential for the successful management of a project’s environmental and social impacts. Stakeholder engagement is an ongoing process that may involve, in varying degrees, the following elements: stakeholder analysis and planning, disclosure and dissemination of information, consultation and participation, grievance mechanism, and ongoing reporting to affected Communities.

We intend to collaborate with a number of stakeholders, one for each protected species.


D. Expected Conservation Impact and Stakeholders

D1 Biodiversity – Impacts

A short assessment of the conservation outcomes expected from implementing a VCA-management plan.

General outcome: inspiring example of humans as part of the ecosystem

After ten years (in 2028) we want Ecovillage Boekel to be an example of humans living as part of the ecosystem, in balance with that ecosystem. That means we will provide shelter and food for all kinds of species as their presence brings balance in our natural surroundings.

For example, we will care for bats so their presence brings balance to the number of flying insects and keeps plaques of mosquitos and other flying insects in check.

We will care for wild bees as they pollinate our fruit trees.

Conservation of key indicator species: a. Bats

Two species have been by the Bat Specialist Group Brabant. Expected outcome in numbers of bats: Common pipistrelle (NL: Gewone dwergvleermuis): 10-15 Serotine bat (NL: Laatvlieger): 5

b. Bees Two species are selected by Ecological Consultants Stachys and by Nederland Zoemt. Expected outcome in numbers of bees: Red-tailed Bumblebee (L: Bombus lapidaries; NL: Steenhommel): 10 Red mason bee (L: Osmia rufa/bicornis; NL: Rosse metselbij):30 Numbers of both species of bees will be counted at the National Bee Counting Day (21st and 22nd of April in 2018).

c. Butterflies Two species are selected by Ecological Consultants Stachys. Expected outcome in numbers of butterflies: Comma butterfly (L: Polygonia c-album; NL: Gehakkelde aurelia): 10 Peacock butterfly (L: Aglais io; NL: Dagpauwoog): 15

d. Birds Two species are suggested by Ecological Consultants Stachys. Expected outcome in numbers of birds: House sparrow (L: Passer domesticus; NL: Huismus): 15 Starling (L: Sturnus vulgaris; NL: Spreeuw): 10


e. Other insects Two species are selected Ecological Consultants Stachys. Expected outcome in numbers of insects: Great green bushcricket (L: Tettigonia viridissima; NL: Grote groene sabelsprinkhaan): 10 Azure bluet (L: Coenagrion puella; NL: Azuurwaterjuffer): 30

Here is an estimation of the expected number with each visit of the VCA Auditor.

Key indicator species 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028

Bat: Common pipistrelle 2 3 5 10 15

Bat: Serotine bat 1 1 2 3 5

Bee: Red-tailed Bumblebee 1 2 3 7 10

Bee: Red mason bee 3 5 10 20 30

Butterfly: Comma butterfly 1 2 3 7 10

Butterfly: Peacock butterfly 2 3 5 10 15

Bird: House sparrow 2 3 5 10 15

Bird: Starling 1 2 3 7 10

Other: Great green bushcricket 1 2 3 7 10

Other: Azure bluet 3 5 10 20 30

Sustainable use We use several ecosystem services in balance with what the ecosystems can provide. This will make the ecosystems more robust and resilient.

Food forest About half of the food area is food forest and this will grow in time towards the centre, as weather extremes will make it more difficult to grow annual crops. The food forest consists of about 60 trees and shrubs. This will probably double in the next years. Helophyte filter This filter is copied from principles of the wetlands where bacteria connected to the roots of plants are filtering water. Swimming pond Providing a swimming possibility is important for the children of the ecovillage. We need it to be climate adaptive towards heat waves. We want to pond to be ecological, so it is not only for humans. A big part of the pond is the hydrophyte


filter (water plants clean the water of the pond). We expect that part of the pond will also attract dragonflies.

Any social aspects and benefits Making a resilient community Together the members of Ecovillage Boekel design, make and take care of our houses, gardens, pond and everything else. Children walk in on any household they wish to talk or play there. When the parents are busy, the children can play together and even eat at another family. ‘It takes an entire village to raise a child’ is visible at the ecovillage. Volunteers help and experience the ecovillage life Volunteers come from the surrounding area, but also from the rest of the Netherlands, sometimes even from Europe and twice from Taiwan. In the last two years about 100 volunteers stayed and worked at the ecovillage. When they stay a week or more they are welcomed to eat with an ecovillage household each day. They not only learn sustainable building/living skills but also gain new insights. Artists help and learn We are making an Artist-in-Residence ready for artists. With a maximum period of three months, artists will stay in a special house and learn to work with innovative Biobased materials. By inventing new usage for the materials, they speed up the transition towards a sustainable future. To give an example, we have floor pieces made out of the shells of coco beans. The Netherlands is the third biggest producer of chocolate and this is a good way to use the waste. The product is designed by a family company who has produced only floors in the last 30 years. An artist might make a bench, or a bowl, or a street light and therefor find a new commercial use for this waste. This helps the artist, the producer (who can make a new product line) and the transition towards a circular economy.

Development Ecovilllage Boekel has permission to use non-certified, Biobased materials in their houses and street furniture. This will help in the development of new materials as the companies can test them in our ecovillage without the costs of certification.


D2 Stakeholder management

1. Add a ½ page on how one will inform and communicate with local communities and other stakeholders (education programme, newsletter, …?)

Provide a first list of key stakeholders to be consulted in the next phase of the Registration process

Bat Specialist Group Brabant

They have already consulted us on ways to protect the two bat species. The bat homes will be part of the construction of our houses.

Ecological Consultants Stachys

Iris Niemeijer of Stachys has advised us on a number of species to expect after ten years.

Nederland Zoemt (Netherlands buzzing)

Cyrille Larosch of Nederland Zoemt has advised us which species of wild bees to protect and how to do that.

Butterfly Foundation

We are going to consult with the butterfly foundation how to effectively make our surroundings fit for the two species we want to protect. They have already offered to help us with the monitoring of the species.

Bird watch Uden

Uden is very close to Boekel, so we are part of their region. We have asked them to help us with the monitoring of the two bird species we wish to protect.

http://www.vleermuizeninbrabant.nl/http://www.stachys.nl/https://www.nederlandzoemt.nl/https://www.vlinderstichting.nl/https://www.vogelwachtuden.nl/


E. Conservation actions & monitoring

We are going to make a list of actions and ways to monitor each specie together with our stakeholders. They will be added to the VCA Management plan as attachments when ready. They can also be found on our website with the number of individuals each year, so everyone can see the progress and actions we take to improve our results.

We want the monitoring to be an inspiring and educational part of our actions, by using webcams and sensors when possible.


F. References Steven de Bie from Conservation Consultancy Steven de Bie

On LinkedIn

Steven has visited Ecovillage Boekel and supports the Dutch Community of Practice of the VCA Platform in which Ecovillage Boekel also participates.

http://www.ccsb.nl/https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-de-bie-53080550/


G. Signatures

Signed

…………………………………… (place) …………………………………… (place)

…………………………………… (date) …………………………………… (date)

…………………………………… (name) …………………………………… (name)

…………………………………… (function) ……………………………….…( function)


Annexes - C3 Conservation SWOT analysis - C1 Plants in the Food area Upcoming annexes per species (will be made in cooperation with stakeholders): - How to care for the Common pipistrelle - How to care for the Serotine bat - How to care for the Red-tailed Bumblebee - How to care for the Red mason bee - How to care for the Comma butterfly - How to care for the Peacock butterfly - How to care for the House sparrow - How to care for the Starling - How to care for the Great green bushcricket - How to care for the Azure bluet

IntroductionBusiness case

A. Overview of the conservation areaA 1. Description of project and project areaA 1.1 Conservation plans

A 2. Area characteristicsA 2.1 The areaA 2.2 Area Management

A 3. Area manager

B. Biodiversity baseline conditionsC. Conservation impact assessmentC 1. General biodiversity overviewC 2. MapsC 3. Conservation SWOT analysis:C 4. Stakeholder consultation

D. Expected Conservation Impact and StakeholdersD1 Biodiversity – ImpactsD2 Stakeholder management

E. Conservation actions & monitoringF. ReferencesG. SignaturesAnnexes

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