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Van Doorn performs verge management for the province of Noord-Brabant. That is to say, ecological roadside management. To this end, Van Doorn has drawn up an ecological green management plan. One of the objectives is to increase biodiversity. What this involves, explains Kees van Dam, asset manager at Van Doorn.
“Over a length of 550 kilometers, we manage the roadsides,” Van Dam explains. “Because each verge has its own layout and therefore requires its own approach, we have divided the 550 kilometers into 80 network links. These links are already applied within the province's asset management.”
Van Doorn performs roadside management together with JvESCH under the name Combinatie EschDoorn. “We have been working for the province for many years. In 2024 we started a new maintenance contract for four years, with the possibility of extension. This stipulates that we will continue the existing ecological approach to strengthen biodiversity. In North Brabant, we are transforming roadsides from functional grass to flower-rich zones that improve nature, climate and quality of life. The management fits the local soil and living conditions and continues to develop continuously, taking into account both opportunities and challenges in the area.”
To identify the opportunities and challenges, Van Doorn created an ecological green management plan. For each network link, it was determined: where am I, what am I doing, where do I want to go (level of ambition) and what can I do? “At the moment, our focus is on the highest level of ambition, or ‘what can I do per link to develop biodiversity?” Some examples of measures we can take include: adapted mowing management, planting hedges and shrubs, installing nature-friendly banks and creating open spaces."
Every measure is carefully monitored. One way this is done is with the Biodiversity Yardstick, a practical tool to estimate how biodiverse (multispecies) an area is - and to discover how to improve biodiversity through management and design. “The yardstick is a very valuable tool because it is not about counting all the species that occur in an area, but about assessing the conditions that enable or limit biodiversity. In this way we can show that verge management in North Brabant is not just maintenance, but leads to objectively measurable progress in biodiversity. In doing so, the eight-year contract period gives us the opportunity to actually achieve results.”
