Natur&emwelt English Speaking Section Newsletter August 2014

English-speaking Section August 2014 newsletter

Contact us: [email protected]

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What's on ...

31.08.2014 - Birds of the Oesling

05.10.2014 - International Birdwatch Day – Youth event

11.10.2014 – Picking apples to make juice or take home

… read more below!

Birds of the Oesling 31 August 2014

The natur&ëmwelt English-speaking Section is organising a guided excursion that will focus on the birds in the Ösling in the context of the Life Éislek project. The tour is also suitable for people without any prior knowledge about birds but offers some of the highlights of birding in Luxembourg. Last year’s sightings included red-backed shrikes, whinchats, a black stork and a variety of different raptors.

For more information on the Life Éislek project, namely the restoration of wetlands in the North of Luxembourg, please consult the official website www.life-eislek.eu

We will meet directly at 14h at the church in Troine:

For more information, please contact Mikis Bastian: 621 529 526, [email protected]

If you are interested in car pooling or have a couple of spare seats that you would like to offer, please let us know.

As birds are rather timid, dogs are not permitted on the walk.

Sturdy footwear and binoculars are recommended.

Link: Life Eislek - http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/news/press/documents/2012/annex_fr.pdf



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International Birdwatch Day – Youth event, 5 October 2014

As part of the International Birdwatch Day 2014, the natur&ëmwelt English-speaking Section is

organising a bird ringing event in the Bird Protection Area “Haff Remich” in Remerschen. Young

people, particularly those aged 10 to 18 years old, will get the chance to experience autumn

migration and get a first hand experience of scientific bird ringing. We will catch birds which are on

their way to their wintering grounds and explain the importance of nature reserves, which serve as

stop-over sites on the birds’ long journey south.

Children under 10 years old are also welcome if they are accompanied by an adult.

Bird ringing will take place throughout the morning (starting at 7:00 a.m.) but people are free to come and go as they like. Meeting point is the large bird observation hide inside the reserve (see map).

For more information please get in touch with Mikis Bastian: 621 529 526, [email protected] Please forward this email to others who are interested in nature and the environment so that we can grow our community.

See the map at the end of the newsletter.



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Apple-juice: conservation in a bottle, 11 October 2014

In the normal course of events,

you’d think, consumerism and

conservationism don’t have

very much in common. But

even conservationists have to

consume food and drink, and

there’s one important way

here in which we can all

protect, conserve and improve

the natural landscape — by

choosing to consume locally

grown produce.

This is true of locally produced meat and locally grown vegetables. But it’s especially true of locally

grown fruit. Nowadays we can buy farmed produce which has been flown in from all parts of the

world. But that’s really not the ecological, ‘green’ way to consume, mainly because of the

environment-unfriendly effects of the huge transport distances. Cost-wise, there may not necessarily

be any great difference between the price of local fruit and the price of fruit that’s come from the

other side of the world. But that’s only half the story...

When we eat local produce, we are not only supporting the efforts of local producers — we’re also

helping to conserve the countryside in which that produce has grown. This is particularly true of

orchards (‘Bongerten’ in Luxemburgish). Orchards used to form a ring around most Luxemburgish

villages. But as those villages expanded, the orchards were the first habitats to be chopped down.

Only gradually are we now starting to plant new orchards to replace the large areas that have been

lost to housing development.

The best way of ensuring that local orchards, old and new, have a future is to pick, buy and eat their

produce — the fruit itself and the juice made from it. Before the new harvest and the resultant juice

arrives in the shops, though, natur&ëmwelt English-speaking Section will be holding a fruit-picking

and juice-pressing session in an orchard in Cents. Check out the details on

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/pick-heirloom-apples-to-make-apple-juice-or-take-home-tickets-

11029959907

Cheers!



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Explorers in a loess world, Kaisterstuhl in May 2014

When you go to a special place to enjoy special birds, it’s a nice bonus to have the weather gods on

your side. We did. We went to the Kaiserstuhl, in south-western Germany, in May, to see — among

other things — the Bee-eaters. And the sun shone.

The Kaiserstuhl is a series of volcanic hills covered, in some cases up to a depth of 40 m, by loess, a

fine sediment that the wind distributes unevenly over the whole area. Bee-eaters excavate their nest

cavities in the loess walls, tunnelling to a depth of 1.5 m or more.

The natur&ëmwelt English-

speaking Section group spent two

days exploring the byways of this

extraordinary area, up and down

the hills and through the sunken

lanes that have been pathways

through the loess for centuries.

Birdwatchers learn of course to be

patient and to watch with their

ears too. Often it’s easier to hear

Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, Turtle

Dove, Cirl Bunting etc than it is to

see them. But just as often, the moment you’ve given up all hope of seeing one of these elusive

blighters, up they pop, in plain view. The glorious Bee-eaters, though, are everywhere.

The Badberg, one of the higher hills, is not bad at all. In fact, it’s famous for the flora and fauna that

thrive on dry and semi-dry grassland. One of the characteristic insects goes by the delightful name

Owly Sulphur (Libelloides coccajus).

What else did we see? A green lizard, a Meadow Pipit’s nest, various orchids and, oh, lots and lots. If

you’re interested in joining us on what may well be next year’s trip (in May), watch out for an

announcement in our next newsletter in January.



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Protection-worthy landscapes

Land-use planning doesn’t have the greatest of pedigrees in Luxembourg. Think industrial estates

dotted around the unlikeliest, least accessible locations and housing development strung alongside

main roads way out into the surrounding countryside. Think fragmented wildlife habitats.

Luxembourg is European ‘leader’ when it comes to landscape fragmentation and has a rate of land

take (250–300 hectares per year) which would lead to almost half the country being built up by 2050

at the present rate of development.* So it’s an event in itself when the government publishes

planning documents like its ‘plans sectoriels’. There are four of these, covering housing, transport,

industrial/business estates, and ‘protection-worthy landscapes’.

These documents are currently at the

stage of being discussed by local

councils, many of which have been

caught a bit off guard — especially the

ones whose land is set to host major

new building projects over the coming

years. All the documents are available

for inspection at

http://www.mddi.public.lu/.

From the nature-lover’s point of view, of

course, it’s the ‘protection-worthy

landscapes’ document that is of most interest. Apart from the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) that each

EU government is required to notify under the EU Wild Birds Directive, this is the first time that a

Luxembourg government has tried to pin down which parts of the countryside should be excluded

from the kind of piecemeal development that has so often passed for ‘land-use planning’.

Take a look at which parts of the area

you live in are reckoned to be worthy of

protection. With a bit of luck and/or

good judgement, your local

birdwatching patch will have been

deemed worthy of protection.

Incidentally, it’s always an interesting

and educational experience to have a

look at land ownership patterns where

you live. Most people are astonished to

find that what seems on the ground to

be a big, cohesive, single-ownership



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field is in fact a myriad of ancient strips of land, each owned by a different person (or, more often

than not, by a staggering number of co-owning heirs). It’s precisely this fragmented ownership than

makes large housing estates so difficult to organise. On the other hand, the need for farmers in the

past to have access to their strips of land all around the village has created the network of field tracks

that make walking in Luxembourg today such a pleasure.

* Mouvement écologique March 2013



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Membership information

We're trying to help wildlife in all kinds of ways. Your support is crucial so that we can carry out vital work

for nature in Luxembourg. Join today to help your local wildlife.

We create and improve habitats for birds and other wildlife, protect plant communities, maintain hedges,

orchards, etc.

We also organise outings, excursions, seminars, courses and conferences on the wildlife and the

environment in Luxembourg, such as:

• guided birdwatching walks in Luxembourg;

• visits to our LIFE projects, such as the freshwater mussel rearing station; and

• "Get Fit by Nature", e.g. practical conservation work to help clear part of a site and create a

wildflower meadow surrounded by a diverse and natural hedgerow, which will provide shelter

and a barrier against the surrounding farmland, and habitat for the Grey Partridge.

All the above examples need your support, financial as well as physical.

natur&ëmwelt asbl offers its members:

• online newsletters in English with news and events especially for English speakers;

• 4 issues per year of the membership magazine ‘Regulus’, with reports and information on nature

protection and conservation. This magazine is primarily in German;

• outings, excursions led by English-speaking guides; and

• a shop selling nature-related products in the House of Nature in Kockelscheuer.

Individual membership: 12€ /year (plus a donation, if you wish)

Family membership: 20€ /year (plus a donation, if you wish)

Please pay your membership fee to our bank account:

BCEE LU67 0019 8000 0994 5000

Thank you!



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Standing order form for membership

I, the undersigned member: Name

Street and number

City

Postal Code

Email address:

Country

authorise the association:

natur&ëmwelt, 5, route de Luxembourg, L-1899 KOCKELSCHEUER

to deduct on an annual basis from the year starting:

and until I cancel in writing, the membership fee of:

Individual membership: minimum 12 euro (plus donation if you wish)

Family membership: minimum 20 euro (plus donation if you wish)

from my bank account number (IBAN):

at the bank:

name of account holder:

address of account holder, if different from above:

This annual standing order replaces all previous standing orders for membership.

I also agree to any increase in the annual membership fees.

Place:

Date:

Signature of member and account holder:



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Environment

Natur&emwelt English Speaking Section Newsletter August 2014