Built-in nature
With the European project 'Built-in nature', Flemish and Dutch governments, companies and institutions are working together to give birds, bats, bees and plants a lasting place in making our buildings climate-proof. Think nesting stones for birds, habitats for bats and green roofs and facades for bees and other insects.
Nature in cities and villages in decline
It is a familiar story by now: nature is under pressure. Of the bird species that live in cities and villages, numbers are declining more often than improving. Every reason for concern, as birds are considered a measure of the quality of the living environment. Due to urbanisation and the increasing need for housing, more and more places for nature are being lost. In the light of climate change, houses and buildings are being renovated and made ever better insulated and airtight. This is very important to combat further global warming, but in doing so, species that depend on our buildings are losing even more resting and sleeping places.
Building with and for nature
The built-in nature project aims to create or preserve opportunities in more buildings for animal species such as birds, bats and insects that depend on them. To achieve this, existing fauna-friendly measures in nature-inclusive building projects are being researched. In addition, new building techniques and materials are being developed and optimised to give nature a sustainable place in buildings. Attention is also paid to the training and further education of project developers, builders, architects and policy staff, among others. In order to inspire target groups for nature-inclusive building, demonstration projects are carried out in the Netherlands and Flanders, both in new construction, redevelopment and renovation. To ensure that nature-inclusive building becomes the new normal and is accessible to everyone, methods and tools for support and participation are being developed.
Perspective for nature on and around buildings
The total budget of Built-in nature is EUR 5.53 million. Of this, half is paid by the EU through Interreg Flanders-Netherlands, with the other half coming from partners and co-funders.
Cooperation between regions
By seeking cooperation across the Flemish-Dutch border, we want to learn from each other and accelerate together towards a new approach to make nature-inclusive working a standard. On the Flemish side, we will start working in almost all provinces, in the Netherlands in Limburg, North Brabant and Zeeland.
The participating organisations from Flanders are: APB Kamp C, Blenders VZW, Embuild Flanders, Hogeschool PXL, Natuurinvest, Natuurpunt Studie, Province of Limburg, Province of East Flanders, Province of Vlaams-Brabant, Province of West Flanders, City of Ghent, Flemish government and W.T.C.B.
The participating organisations from the Netherlands are: Municipality of Breda, Municipality of Goes, Municipality of Middelburg, Municipality of Terneuzen, Municipality of Weert, Province of Zeeland, Technical University Eindhoven and Vogelbescherming Nederland.
The project is funded by Interreg Flanders-Netherlands (from the European Union) and runs from September 2023 to September 2026.