Oudegem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A student worker mistakenly mowed over all the flower beds in Oudegem’s village square, leaving it bare. Officials say it was a misunderstanding, not vandalism.
In the middle of July, they were mown to the ground. The plants and flowers that had been planted, however, were still in full bloom. Everything was mowed down by a student worker because of a misunderstanding.
In 2018, a number of flowerbeds and plants were added to the village square in Oudegem, Belgium.
“There’s no sign of that anymore,”
notes Katrijn Los of the opposition party N-VA.
“The flowerbeds contained several perennials that didn’t need mowing at all. They were all in bloom, ideal for wild bees and other insects.”
“A contractor maintains the planting areas in Oudegem,”
explains Alderman Laurens Hofman (Renewal).
“The removal of the plants in question turned out to be a misunderstanding by one of their student workers. They indicated that when it starts raining again or when we’re in the planting season, they will replant the plants.”
According to the alderman, the collaboration with the contractor is going very well:
“We are satisfied with the quality. The incident in Oudegem is an unfortunate occurrence.”
How have local residents or visitors reacted to the sudden loss of the flowerbeds?
Given that the plants were still in full bloom when they were mowed down, the abrupt disappearance of the flowerbeds in Oudegem has probably left both locals and tourists feeling let down or alarmed.
A cultural change toward appreciating flourishing plant life and ecological health in public and private gardens is reflected in campaigns like “Don’t Mow May” (Maai Mei Niet), which encourage people to mow less in order to increase biodiversity and help pollinators like bees.
In light of this, residents who value and support these biodiversity-friendly initiatives may have been disappointed by the sudden devastation of Oudegem’s well-kept flowerbeds.
