Minett Mash-Up: Jan Herr X Léiffrächen

Biodiversity and management of the Minett open-cast mining areas

Minett Mash-Up is the travelling podcast from the Minett: every month with a guest, and in a different place. This year, our conversations revolve around the history of the blast furnaces, the mines and the open-cast mining areas – as well as the transformation of the “Bassin Minier” into a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Our “Minett-Location” of the month: Léiffrächen

For this episode, we headed out in the February rain to Léiffrächen – one of the six core zones of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere, and a place where our natural and industrial heritage come together in a very special way.

In the podcast, we talk about why Léiffrächen is so fascinating as a core zone: as a former mining area, it shows how post-industrial landscapes can become important refuges for flora and fauna. At the same time, it raises a very practical question: how do you reconcile nature conservation, public access, and the preservation of industrial memory?

Our guest: Jan Herr

Our guest is Jan Herr, a biologist at the nature administration and facilitator of the COPIL Natura 2000 Minetter Dagebausgebidder. In this episode of Minett Mash-Up, we go behind the scenes with him: what does it mean to manage areas like this in everyday practice? And what does a management plan for a nature reserve actually look like?

We also cover the following points:

What makes Léiffrächen different from other core zones
Which elements of biodiversity are particularly important here – including in the context of the EU’s Natura 2000 programme.
Whether the renaturation of former mining sites is a success from a biological point of view, and why “post-industrial” landscapes can sometimes be said to have a distinctive biodiversity.
Why it can sometimes look as if an area has been “ploughed through with a digger” – and why, in spite of that (or precisely because of it), it may be important for nature conservation to intervene regularly.
What the biggest future challenges are for the core zones of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere: climate change, settlement pressure, light pollution – or something else entirely?

As a small nature highlight, the woodlark (Bëschléierchen) also features prominently in this episode of Minett Mash-Up: we introduce it briefly for anyone who doesn’t know it yet, and we also introduce our “Minetter Schof” – four-legged nature conservationists – in our conversation with Jan Herr.

Alongside the technical topics, there’s a more personal side too: Jan shares what his path has looked like, and we talk about how you “switch off” when nature is also your workplace.

Notre quiz :

As a core zone, Léiffrächen is a particularly important part of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere. How large is the Léiffrächen core zone?

112 ha
306 ha *
601 ha

The “Léiffrächen” in Kayl is a national pilgrimage and memorial site with a statue of Mary, venerated as the miners’ second patron saint. How old is the pilgrimage to Léiffrächen in Kayl, according to documented history?

It began in the 20th century, in the 1930s
It dates back to the mid-18th century *
It began in 1901 after a chapel fire

Which important educational project in the Minett aims to raise awareness of the environment and biodiversity among children and adults?

MiNELL – Minett Natur an Ëmwelt Léier Lab*
Children’s University
Minett Biosphär Festival

Links to the topics of this episode:

COPIL Natura 2000 « Minetter Dagebaugebidder »: one of the pilot committees (comités de pilotage) for Natura 2000 sites in Luxembourg
Natura 2000 programme: European programme for the protection of flora and fauna
Léiffrächen nature réserve: a former open-cast mining area, now one of the six core zones of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere
Bëschléierchen (woodlark): a small bird that nests on the ground and is considered a key species in the Minett UNESCO Biosphere
Protection of the former open-cast mining sites: a few simple rules for protecting nature in the Minett UNESCO Biosphere
Jan Herr’s Instagram account: where Jan Herr shares his nature photography
Beech martens in Luxembourg: brochure based on Jan Herr’s doctoral thesis
Light pollution: a form of environmental pollution caused by artificial lighting at night
Minetter Schof: a flock of sheep that moves through the core zones of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere from spring to late autumn
Monument National des Mineurs: monument commemorating all victims of Luxembourg’s iron-ore mines
Notre Dame des Mineurs: pilgrimage to Léiffrächen that has existed for over 200 years
MiNELL: the Minett Natur an Ëmwelt Léier Lab, through which the Minett UNESCO Biosphere offers environmental education workshops for children, adults and teaching staff