An orchard for biodiversity in Fauvillers!

Patrick and Eric Noiset, lifelong farmers, enlisted PlantC to create an orchard for biodiversity and for their heifers in Fauvillers. Along this plot, the two brothers wanted to plant a line of trees for the landscape aspect, in addition to the benefits for biodiversity.

This plot is overgrown with blackthorn, has very shallow, schistous soil, and is also very acidic… In short, it’s not an agricultural paradise, yet the two brothers are full of ideas, as they designed their plot to create a path for their heifers!

Isn’t that a great idea?

In any case, this type of situation is rather rare in Belgium. With the price of agricultural land today, land must be a profitable investment, or nothing is left to chance!

However, at Patrick’s, we agreed not to touch anything, to leave the blackthorns in place, and to add a few orchard trees primarily intended for biodiversity.

What does the project look like on paper?

We planted 19 fruit trees in 2025 on the upper part where the soil is deep enough, and we selected these varieties:

Chestnut, Hybrid Walnut, Domestic Apple “La Paix”, Domestic Apple “Reinette de Waleffe”, Domestic Apple “Court Pendu Rose”, Domestic Apple “Reinette étoilée”, Domestic Plum “Altesse simple”, Domestic Plum “Altesse double”, and Myrobalan.

These varieties are particularly well-suited to the climate of the Upper Ardennes and are quite hardy. Furthermore, we made sure to include various species, such as chestnut, apple, plum, etc.

Certain species, such as walnut, represent a real gamble as they are not, a priori, adapted to the climate of this region. However, it is important to remember that the climate is changing rapidly, and today’s truth may not be the truth in ten years!

The line of trees consists of sessile oaks, American oaks, small-leaved lime trees, and walnut trees.

And in reality, what does this project look like?

A well-attended visit for the Noiset brothers’ project

On Thursday, June 19, 2025, three companies visited the site to discover the project led by the Noiset brothers. Among them were the Colruyt group, Greentriper, and Railtrip.

This visit allowed them to tour the site, to better understand the daily lives of Eric and Patrick, passionate breeders of Belgian Blue cattle, members of the Saveurs d’Ardenne cooperative, and to concretely grasp the interest of such a development, both for their activity and for the preservation of biodiversity.

The program included discussions on orchards, the formative pruning of young trees, and the benefits of these practices, both for biodiversity and for farmers. We also addressed broader topics related to meat production in the context of climate change, as well as the essential role of farmers, who are true key links in our society.

This sunny afternoon, punctuated by explanations from the Noiset brothers and PlantC, concluded with a small snack, allowing discussions to continue and final supplementary questions to be asked.

At the end of the visit, Eric and Patrick even invited us to return and see their plantation. One thing is certain: it is in good hands!