Bos+ draws how could it be otherwise plenty the map of forests. Their biggest concern is that the little forest we have left in Flanders is disappearing.
You can go there for tips and advice on legislation. Of course, they are pre-eminent specialists when it comes to forest land. But beware, if you put a pile of trees together on any land and it looks like a forest then you also fall under the forest decree. So if you don’t take that into account, then even on farmland, you may accidentally suddenly have to deal with forest decree rules.
Design
You can turn to Bos+ for your design if you don’t feel quite sure. So that can already be helpful. Especially if you want to start from an existing piece of forest, this is the place to be.
Grants
But now it gets interesting. If you have a patch of land of more than half an acre then you can also apply for a support fund through them.
BOS+ collects financial resources in the Climate Forests Fund. These funds come from sponsoring companies and private donors and serve to encourage forest expansion in Flanders. With the Climate Forests Fund, BOS+ supports various types of forest expansion, including food forests. This both for individuals, private organizations and public organizations. Here is some more explanation of the conditions for a food forest planting and an explanation of how a partnership with BOS+ comes about.
From a planting plan, permit applications and grant applications to even planting with a planting campaign, BOS+ is your ideal partner to create a food forest. And last but not least, you will receive a maximum of € 5650/hectare or € 25 per tree financial support on top.
What are the conditions for establishing a food forest?
To be eligible to sponsor your own food forest, you must meet some general requirements. For starters, it is important that the planting work you plan to do is not eligible for additional sponsorship. In this way, we want to guarantee that we give equal opportunities and resources to everyone for planting a food forest. In addition, it is extremely important to BOS+ that the food forest be given a long life. To ensure this, they enter into an agreement with you, stating that it must remain in place for at least 25 years.
The planting of a food forest can, if you wish, be accompanied by a short press event. This is a plus and can make you more likely to be sponsored than others. They will supervise the planting operation to ensure that the ecological carrying capacity of the site is not exceeded. BOS+ also always links back with you for your approval of the plans. They work exclusively with native species.
Furthermore, it must be a new food forest in Flanders; in other words, compensatory afforestation for a deforestation elsewhere is not supported by BOS+. Thus, they ensure that only forest is added and precious existing forest is preserved.
Corporate Forests
You can also go to bos+ if you want to build an ordinary corporate forest at very democratic prices. So be sure to take a look at their website as well. We naturally prefer an edible “tasty piece” of nature because that connects people. But better one tree than no tree we think.
