Nederland - Oisterwijk, Groot Aderven

Oisterwijk is well known for its Bossen en Vennen, located south of the village. It is an area of 410 hectares with forests and dozens of fens. These fens were created during the last ice age by heavy southwestern winds, blowing sand away. The created bowls were later filled with rainwater. Because of loamy or primal (iron) layers, the water remained in the bowls, creating fens in a bare landscape. The forests around the pools have been planted since the nineteenth century.

Most of the nature reserve is managed by Natuurmonumenten, a Dutch organisation founded in 1905 that buys, protects and manages nature reserves in the Netherlands.

I took this pictures on a grey day at the Groot Aderven, one of the many fens.