Viewing site: Erikstorp forest area

2025-10-18

Finally, the time has come for the inauguration of the viewing site in Erikstorp. It is a brilliant autumn day, sunny, a bit chilly, and with frost on the grass as people start to stream in around 10 o'clock in the morning. Andreas and Peter from Bollebygd municipality have filled the thermoses with coffee, lit the grill, and set up a tricky quiz walk in the area. Katarina and Linda from Leader Sjuhärad are present with inspiring informational material about mulmholkar, insect hotels, and other tips on how you can promote biodiversity in your vicinity. Down by the stream, Johannes and Peter from Sportfiskarna are ready with nets to show what lives in the stream. There are many interested people of different ages who have found their way here today, with nearly 80 people showing up during the morning.

At 10 o'clock, it is time for the inauguration; Andreas, Peter, and Katarina talk about the idea behind the viewing site and how it came to be. Then it is time for Sverre Fredriksson, chairman of the technical committee, to cut the ribbon to the viewing site. The beautiful sign that tells about the content of the viewing site is unveiled by Andreas.

After that, it is free to take a round and look around the area, go on the quiz walk, drink coffee, eat sausages, drill holes in an insect hotel, net in the stream, or paint on stones that will be placed in the stone piles. There is great engagement and interest, and many positive reactions throughout the day. We are truly happy about the collaboration with Bollebygd municipality, which has invested in making this beautiful little nature area accessible. It is now a place to experience nature and to learn more about what biodiversity is and what one can do to create better conditions for wild animals and plants.

2025-09-19

On a cloudy but warm Friday afternoon in September, it is time for a return visit to the stream ravine in Erikstorp. We have now decided that there will be an inauguration of the viewing site on Saturday, October 18, and today Peter and Andreas are on site to take care of some of the last details before the inauguration.

Andreas is busy setting up insect hotels and birdhouses. In total, about 40 different houses have been put up, including birdhouses, bat houses, mulmholkar, and bee houses/insect hotels. We take a closer look at one of the mulmholkar placed at the base of a large oak. A mulmholk is an attempt to create an environment that mimics the interior of an old dead deciduous tree. Mulm is loose, finely divided decayed wood and sometimes also remnants of old leaves, beetle droppings, and dead animals. Many different beetle species need mulm, as their larvae live in and feed on the mulm. The mulmholk looks like a large birdhouse (and can also be used as such) but is filled with old leaves and decayed wood, and in the roof, there are holes that allow a bit of water to enter so that it becomes suitably moist inside.

A little further down the path, we find Peter who is using a scythe to clear a small path between moose grass, raspberries, and ferns. The idea here is that in the future, one should be able to sneak through surrounded by tall vegetation and thus get close to plants and small creatures and discover nature up close.

Peter has also cleared an area on a slope where there is a lot of moose grass, raspberries, and tall grass; the hope is that with the help of recurring mowing and removal of grass, a more meadow-like area with more flowering plants can be created.

We hope you will come to the inauguration on October 18 from 10 AM to 12 PM, where you will learn more about what has been created to promote biodiversity and what the plans for the area look like going forward. There will be snacks, sausage grilling, activities, and inspiration for the whole family. The inauguration is part of Sustainability Week in Bollebygd municipality, more info can be found on Bollebygd municipality's website: Sustainability Festival – Bollebygd Municipality

2025-06-26

It is a sunny summer day at the end of June when it is time for a visit to Erikstorp again. Today, both Andreas Andersson, park & forest manager,and Peter Krahl, environmental strategist from Bollebygd municipality, are present and meet in the lush greenery. Today, they will continue the practical work of building fauna depots in the form of brush fences and clearing some undergrowth in the area. But before that, we take a walk together around the area near the creek ravine and look at what has happened since last time. The large project that has begun is the construction of a stone wall and stone heaps. The idea is that the wall and heaps will become possible habitats for small creatures, lizards, and insects. Since the wall must be safe and cannot collapse, it is framed with gabion baskets. Here we discussed the possibility of adding soil on top and establishing vegetation to create a more natural feeling more quickly. It is the summer workers in the municipality who have helped complete the wall in recent weeks. Eventually, plants will be established around it, either spontaneously occurring plants or possibly sowing of some meadow mixture., We continue walking along the creek ravine and make our way out into the lush sea of moose grass, raspberries, valerian, and ferns. The ground is fresh and nutrient-rich at the site, and the vegetation is almost impenetrable in some places. But out among the greenery, numerous brown skipper butterflies flutter around, and now and then a pearl-bordered fritillary can be seen, and by the creek, a blue shimmering damselfly flashes by. Bumblebees are busy pollinating the wild raspberries. We further discuss how the area can be managed in the long term; perhaps part of the area can be managed with mowing to increase the number of flowering plants, while other areas would benefit from being grazed by sheep, while other parts should remain just as they are without any managed care. Some mulmholkar will also be set up here to benefit wood-living beetles, so we are also looking around today to find suitable, sunlit spots near old deciduous trees where it would be good to place them. 

We continue to walk along the stream ravine and make our way out into the lush sea of moose grass, raspberries, valerian, and ferns. It is fresh and nutrient-rich soil at the site, and the vegetation is almost impenetrable in some places. But out among the greenery, numerous brown butterfly grass flutters and an occasional pearl butterfly flits about, and by the stream, a blue shimmering damselfly can be seen passing by. The bumblebees are busy pollinating the wild raspberries. We continue to discuss how the area can be managed in the long term; perhaps part of the area can be managed with mowing to increase the number of flowering plants, while other areas would benefit from being grazed by sheep, while other parts should be left exactly as they are without any managed care. Here, some mulmholkar will also be set up to benefit wood-living beetles, so we are also looking around today to find suitable, sunlit spots near old deciduous trees where it would be good to place them. 

The work on the stone wall, faunadepots, and mulmholkar will continue throughout the summer. It will be exciting to return to see how it looks in August-September.

2025-04-15

In the days before Easter, I head towards Bollebygd; the spring warmth has finally arrived, and the leaf budding has just begun on bushes and trees. At Erikstorp preschool in Bollebygd, I meet Andreas, who is the park and forest manager in Bollebygd municipality.

We will look at the area that the municipality has cleared and arranged as a green space accessible to the residents of Bollebygd.

The area, which lies along a stream ravine between Erikstorp preschool and the residential area on the other side, was overgrown and inaccessible. In the thickets, wild boars were hiding, which became a problem in the nearby residential area. Now, instead, a more open deciduous forest environment has been created with gravel paths that allow more people to enjoy the area.

Here, it is also intended to create more elements and biotopes that benefit biodiversity. Since many people move in the area, it also becomes a good opportunity to showcase and inform people about biodiversity. A perfect display site, in other words.

Faunadepots will be built in the form of brush fences, a stone wall will be built in a sunlit location, mulmholkar, bat boxes, and insect hotels will be set up in suitable places. A larger information board and several smaller signs will be placed in the area so that one can learn more about which species benefit from different environments.

We walk around and look at old trees, dead wood, and sunny clearings to figure out where it is best to place the various interventions. In the stream, trout swim upstream, and care must be taken to ensure that there is enough dead wood in the water to benefit the trout. Since the area has recently been cleared, it remains to be seen how the vegetation develops in the future. There are areas that could possibly be managed with late mowing to increase the number of flowering plants in the area.

Hopefully, the work will largely be carried out during the spring and summer of 2025. It will be exciting to return in the summer and see how the area has developed.