Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper): Bart Swerts, a forest ranger in the Sonian Forest, wants to ban mushroom picking to protect the forest’s 1,000 mushroom species from illegal harvesting, especially by Eastern Europeans.
Bart Swerts, a forest ranger in the Sonian Forest for 16 years, has noticed that every autumn, many people, especially from Eastern Europe, come to the forest with large bags to search for mushrooms. While he respects their cultural tradition of mushroom picking, he points out that the Sonian Forest is much smaller than the vast forests in Romania and Bulgaria. This makes the impact of picking mushrooms here more harmful. Swerts believes the ban on mushroom picking is necessary to protect the diversity of mushrooms in Brussels.
How can Ranger Bart Swerts combat illegal mushroom picking in Brussels’ Sonian forest?
Brussels forests have about a thousand types of mushrooms, with the Sonian Forest having the most. Because the forest has never been farmed, the soil is natural. Some mushrooms, like chanterelles, are edible and look like yellow or orange funnels. Ranger Bart Swerts says picking chanterelles can damage the forest and the trees because they help them grow and are food for animals. He finds it hard to know which mushrooms poachers take, but he thinks common cloud mushrooms are popular. Picking mushrooms can be dangerous too, as some can make you very sick.
Swerts talks about the problem of illegal mushroom picking, saying many people still don’t know the rules even though there are signs and online information. He thinks they should share this information in more languages. When caught, people have to empty their bags, and the mushrooms are thrown away, which can be dangerous if they face aggressive pickers. Swerts feels frustrated because he hasn’t seen any changes in this issue over the years.
