Forest planting underway: De Hoop Terneuzen helps make Zeeland greener
18 February 2026New woodland is urgently needed. Not only to capture CO₂, but also to strengthen biodiversity and make Zeeland greener and more liveable for future generations. That is why De Hoop Terneuzen, together with Staatsbosbeheer, is investing in the planting of 100 hectares of new forest in our province, the equivalent of around half a million trees. In Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, this ambition is becoming increasingly visible. Omroep Zeeland spoke with forest ranger Ilse Maas about the young trees being planted near IJzendijke and at Gat van Pinte near Terneuzen, both made possible through the investment of De Hoop Terneuzen.
Read the article from Omroep Zeeland below.
Source: Omroep Zeeland
By: Ellen Nieuwenhuijze
Behind this high fence, an entirely new forest will soon grow: planting in full swing
Compared to the rest of Europe, the Netherlands has relatively little woodland. And yet forests provide countless benefits: they remove CO₂ from the air, purify water and enhance biodiversity. That is why new forests are being created across the country. In Zeeuws-Vlaanderen too, many young trees will be planted in the coming months.
Anyone driving from Waterlandkerkje to IJzendijke can already see it. In a meadow bordering the Pontebos, just across the N61 near IJzendijke, work is well underway. Men in colourful overalls are busy with shovels, a tractor and other forestry machinery.
A large fence has been erected around the site. Bare twigs — shrubs in the making — stand along the edges, while young trees grow inside the enclosure. “That fence is specially designed to protect the new growth from hares and also deer,” explains forest ranger Ilse Maas. “That’s why it is so high. The young planting is vulnerable, and we want to take good care of it.”
‘Forests are important’
This year, Staatsbosbeheer is planting new woodland in two locations in Zeeland: 7.7 hectares in a meadow near the Pontebos in IJzendijke, and around 8.3 hectares at Gat van Pinte near Terneuzen. In doing so, the organisation is contributing to the national ambition to increase forest area in the Netherlands by 10 percent.
“Forests are beneficial for CO₂ storage, water purification and water retention,” says Maas. “They can also increase biodiversity and provide cooling. That’s why forests are important.”
Gat van Pinte: new woodland within existing nature
While the woodland near IJzendijke is being planted in a meadow, the forest at Gat van Pinte near Terneuzen will be created within an existing nature area.
“We had to think very carefully about that,” says Maas. “It’s not that woodland is automatically better nature than other types of landscape. We only plant forest when it is ecologically and visually responsible.”
Together with local nature organisations and nearby residents, Staatsbosbeheer developed a plan in which the existing nature is strengthened by the new woodland.
“It will become a beautiful combination of young forest, shrubs, open areas and water, with a walking path running through it. Visitors will be able to enjoy the landscape without disturbing nature. In this way, we hope to enhance the existing area while also adding a new piece of woodland.”
Planting at Gat van Pinte is expected to begin next week. All work must be completed before the bird breeding season starts. Of course, it will still take time before the new woodland truly looks like a forest.
“For the coming years, you will mainly see young planting,” says Maas. “After ten to twenty years it will start to resemble a forest. And after thirty or fifty years, you’ll really say: ‘Wow, that is a forest.’”