Enjoying the green in Diever

Go for a walk in the Dieverzand and discover how green wooded an old shifting sand area can become, as long as nature gets the chance. A forest reserve of Scots pines has been created here on the edge of the Drents-Friese Wold. Here and there you can still see a sand cover, but the largest part of the reserve is deserted. The result is an open forest, where crow heather grows at the feet of the trees. The deeper you go into the Dieverzand, the more variation you will see. The pine forest gives way to swamp, more shifting sand, fens and heath, but also flowery stream valleys and convex fields. Those fields were created because the fields became increasingly higher due to the heath sods and sheep manure that was used to keep the land fertile. Because of the variation, many mammals can find their way: from roe deer and pine martens to weasels and foxes and from woodpeckers and wheatear to buzzard and hawk. Plants such as water lobelia, many-stemmed water rush and floating hedgehog's head grow in the fens. You can park your car for free at De Fietserije. If you want to make the route a bit bigger, you can also rent a bicycle here, possibly with a child seat. A tour through the Dieverzand is fun for young and old!