Flowering season 2016
info: in the northern part of the forest, called ‘Keldergat’, trees have been felled this year (wood extraction). Trunks and crowns are lying in various places in that part of the forest and there are piles of firewood along the trails. From 1 March to 30 June however, the wood extraction stops (“schoon” time) and the loggers are not allowed to continue their work. “Schoon” time comes from the German “Schonen” meaning ‘save’, ‘protect’. The “schoon” period helps to protect the vegetation (spring flowers), to ‘save’ and not to disturb the nesting birds.
Permission for professional photo shoots, with or without models, or film recordings must be requested via the box office. In the Hallerbos you must always stay on the paths, also when taking pictures and filming. The soil and vegetation are fragile and very sensitive to trampling. The use of drones is not allowed in the forest.
It is pleasant to walk in the woods. There is a thin layer of snow. In the valley of the ‘Keldergat’ beeches have been felled. They will be replaced by alder and ash that are better fitted in wetter places than beech. This is a transformation as provided in the management plan and fitting in the realisation of European nature conservation (in the Natura 2000 network). Gorse is flowering. In former times, its thorns were used as buckles and as a kind of clothespin to secure the washing when drying.
The frozen ground makes conditions right for the loggers to remove the stems from the forest.
In the three year old plantation on the Pipaensweide, voles keep damaging the young oaks a lot. They have bitten off the roots completely. The forestery workers replace the dead trees by new seedlings. In the forest edges yellow dogwood is blooming.