Six years ago, ‘the most beautiful shrub in Drenthe’ was disappearing. Nature organizations sounded the alarm and that signal was picked up. In 2014, twelve juniper brigades were set up to clean the soil every time so that the plant can spread. Thousands of new juniper bushes have now been added.
“Things are going well now. We are out of the danger zone”, says Jan Mager of the juniper brigade Kraloo at RTV Drenthe.
Juniper is one of the few conifers that occur naturally in the Benelux. In the Netherlands, this is mainly in the Veluwe and Drenthe. But in Drenthe things have not been going well for some time.
According to Mager, the problems started a hundred years ago. “The bush had already stopped multiplying by then. The sheep were no longer on the heath. This meant that the ground no longer became bare. That resulted in too much humus. The seeds of the juniper berries fell on the humus, but they have to sand fall. “
In the breach for the berry
The consequences could be seen everywhere in Drenthe. For years in a row no new plants were added, the number of juniper bushes decreased steadily.
In 2014 this led to the provincial program In the breach for juniper. Juniper brigades were set up at twelve locations. They go out almost every week in winter to remove small trees and grasses from the habitat of the juniper bush. “Look”, Mager points to a recently pulled out tree. “If you pull out an American Bird Cherry and leave a piece of sand open, new young juniper berries will emerge.”
The plant needs space, air and ‘white’ sandy soil in order to grow. This means that the work of the juniper brigades is never really finished. Mager is talking about it. “Originally it was always there; the juniper was here before the Scots pine, the Norway spruce and all those other conifers. Thousands of years ago there were only junipers here. It is precisely that kind that must remain”, he says. And then the shrub is also important for diversity. According to Mager, for example, certain birds come to the area to breed that would otherwise not come soon. “But”, says Mager quickly afterwards, “it just looks beautiful.”
Stinging effect
As the name implies, juniper berries are added to gin to give the drink extra aroma. The berries are also eaten from the bush. They are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants and have a beneficial effect on the metabolism. But it advice is to eat them in moderation. because they have a stimulating effect on the kidneys
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