Dudenpark in Brussels to close for two weeks

The Brussels-Capital Region's environmental agency Leefmilieu Brussel have announced they will temporarily close Dudenpark in Forest later this week.

Dudenpark, one of Brussels most-beloved parks, will stay closed from August 15 until August 31 so the agency can prune the park’s sick trees and remove the dead trees.

Dudenpark counts more than 4,000 trees, but last year’s hot summer and protracted drought damaged many of the park’s trees, some of which are more than 40 metres tall. In a statement posted to its website, the municipality of Forest tied many of the beach trees’ dire state to climate change, which it said was precipitating tree death.

According to the Brussel Leefmilieu environmental agency, 71 of the park’s 1,500 beech trees – many of them older trees – are likely to die in the coming years. The municipality said it is doing everything it can to keep the trees intact for as long as possible while also protecting the many runners, families and dog walkers who frequent the park.  

Leefmilieu Brussel also plans to permanently close off parts of the park to the public to return those areas’ biodiversity to its former levels. This would also allow the trees that sustained irreparable damage to die off naturally.

Photo courtesy Google Maps

Written by Linda A. Thompson