An anti-erosion hedge at Christian’s

Welcome to Christian Lavoix’s farm in Vedrin! On nearly 140 hectares, he runs a mixed farming and livestock operation. He raises 180 cattle on 26 hectares of pasture and has two mobile chicken coops for organic free-range poultry on 1.5 ha. He cultivates beets, cereals, and corn on 112 ha, 11 ha of which are organic.

At the initiative of the City of Namur, as part of its soil erosion control program, Christian wanted to plant a network of hedges near his farm and livestock to protect the animals from the north wind and combat mudslides. With PlantC and Trafic, we planted 630 meters of hedges.

The first meeting with Christian took place in April 2023. We took the time to listen to his concerns, to determine the desired lengths and functions of the different hedge sections. They extend over 1,012 meters, 630m of which are supported by PlantC and Trafic. The plantings aim to:

• strengthen the ecological network and biodiversity within the farm.
• provide shade for the livestock while protecting them from prevailing winds.
• limit runoff.

Project Supported by

At the initiative of the City of Namur

The Hedge: An Ecological and Nourishing Corridor

Meeting many eligibility criteria for its Takecare sustainability program, the company Trafic chose to co-finance the approximately 630 meters of hedgerows.

On March 19, 2024, the linear planting was carried out. After Christian had performed soil decompaction, the planting team, equipped with a tiller to loosen the surface soil, planted no fewer than 2,084 native plants.

The hedge consists of hornbeam, hazelnut, rowan, European spindle, and large-leaved lime*… A mixture of 9 different species of native trees and shrubs are planted.

Characteristics of the hedge project