Towns gather for annual meeting
participants from Houffalize, meerssen & niederanven
Meerssen, NL – Each year the three neighbouring towns of Houffalize (BE), Meerssen (NL) and Niederanven (LUX) making up our BeNeLux partners gather together to network and share information on each other’s activities, as well as plans for the forthcoming General Meeting in Malta.
Meerssen hosted this year’s Benelux Douzelage meeting. Delegates from Houffalize and Niederanven set off early on Saturday, April 18, and were welcomed in Meerssen with coffee and traditional Limburg pie (vlaai).
Members of the three delegations gather in Meerssen
The agenda included developments within the three Douzelage towns, such as changes in governance, the upcoming General Meeting, and sustainability. Meerssen provided an update on the Youth Board and the progress of the Water-Fall project, which also served as the central theme of the day. After a tasty lunch, Douzelage Meerssen gave a short presentation on completed initiatives on sustainability in our own back yard or even at our front door. Niederanven turned out to have similar projects — clearly, sustainability is a cross-border theme.
Herman Langenveld from Meerssen updates everyone on the Dutch activities
After the formal program, it was time to explore things in practice. Participants visited two Water-Fall locations. First, they walked to the station, where they were given an explanation of plans currently awaiting municipal approval. The group then moved to the area parallel to Humcoverstraat to see what steps local residents themselves had taken to promote biodiversity: transforming a grassy field into a space full of trees, shrubs, and flowers.
Visiting the Waterfall Project locations
For this Benelux meeting, Meerssen had prepared small bags of organic wildflower seeds from native species. These were also handed out to passersby during the walk — a small gesture to support greater biodiversity.
Hearing more about the Waterfall project
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