Hedges for Biodiversity at Stéphanie's

We are in Flanders, specifically in Brakel, on a plot managed by Stéphanie, an organic market gardener.

The Genesis of the Project

Stéphanie is part of the Pomona Puur Aerde cooperative, which has just acquired this agricultural land for vegetable production in Brakel. It is at the initiative of Stéphanie and Jacinte from Farming For Climate that PlantC visits the site!

Pomona Puur Aerde is a farmers’ cooperative located in Brakel, in the Flemish Ardennes, which will start producing vegetables in combination with perennial crops in 2025.

Together, they want to support local food production while preserving the environment, soil, and biodiversity and wish, through their projects, to contribute to regenerative agriculture.

In this regard, planting hedges makes perfect sense!

We believe that today’s agriculture must be cooperative, where farmers and citizens work together for healthy and equitable food production. It is within this framework that we found the ideal partner in PlantC!

Stéphanie De Caluwé

Stéphanie De Caluwé, at the initiative of the hedge planting project in Brakel.

On November 18, 2024, we then visit the site to gather all technical and practical information. It is decided to plant a two-row hedge over 223 meters.

The plot was previously used for conventional farming (corn cultivation in 2024). The vibrant Stéphanie, with her infectious laugh, then shares her concerns with us. The objectives of her hedge project are manifold:

Host beneficial insects for pest control and provide food for “allied” insects, bees, and birds.
Act as a windbreak along the edges of our plots, to mitigate climatic extremes.

Hedges for Biodiversity at Stéphanie’s
Get inspired

Before

After

Hedges at Field Edges

Seven species were planted, for a total of 651 plants. The planting took place on March 15, 2025. Stéphanie will then sow dwarf clover at the base of the hedge to promote a soft ground cover, favorable to pollinators and trapping nitrogen in the soil.

What about the following winter season?

By March 2026, the hedge will be one year old. Stéphanie gave us an update, and we were able to see its evolution on December 5, 2025. We can tell you: it was a great emotion to see that the hedge is doing wonderfully, but especially that Stéphanie’s market gardening management has developed. We are very proud to be a partner in her project.

What a contrast between the cornfield of 2024 and today’s market gardening project! We invite you to observe these changes in photos.

Visit to Stéphanie’s with Edenred

The visit on May 20, 2026, to Stéphanie’s was an exceptional moment—an immersion into her reality as a market gardener, shaped by passion, resilience, and an intimate relationship with the living world. A unique and suspended moment, where the rhythm of the land and the sincerity of the exchanges gave the meeting a rare depth.

The hedge planted on the plot is doing wonderfully, despite a few occasional losses that in no way affect the overall momentum of the project. It is already structuring the landscape, protecting the crops, and hosting a thriving biodiversity.

This visit bears witness to the strength of projects led by committed farmers, and the way in which ecological infrastructure supports their daily work.