Not disturbing nature
From April to October, the Einstein Telescope – EMR project office is carrying out a drilling campaign in several places as part of the geological survey. To ensure that the work does not disturb the surrounding nature, ecologist Joyce Janssen conducted nature studies for consultancy firm Antea Group. Among other things, it led to one of the drillings being postponed until after the breeding season.

Why was this research needed?
‘The Einstein Telescope drilling sites in Epen and Vijlen are in or near Natura 2000 areas. These areas protect plant and animal species threatened in Europe and their natural habitats to preserve biodiversity. Certain nature values have been established for each area. These include breeding birds, for example, but also other organisms; right down to fungi. The habitat of protected species also falls under these nature values. In addition, there are nature laws and regulations at European, national and provincial level that must be taken into account, even outside Natura 2000 areas. For example, the Environment Act regulates that no breeding birds may be deliberately disturbed. The people at the project office asked Antea Group to understand the natural values present at the drilling sites so that they could take the right precautions.’
How did you proceed?
‘I started with desk research. Using data from the national database on flora and fauna, among others, I made an overview of all protected plant and animal species occurring within a 1-kilometre radius of the intended drilling sites. Being from the area also ensured that I already had some prior knowledge of the natural values present at the drilling sites. I then conducted several site surveys to identify or exclude species. For example, I mapped all the birds present based on their songs. And I looked if I spotted young birds or parent birds with food in their beaks, because that means this species is breeding in the area. This required several visits, mainly in the early morning hours, as this is when most bird species are most active.’
‘I made a survey of all protected plant and animal species occurring within a 1-kilometre radius of the proposed drilling sites’
Joyce Janssen

Did you discover any unusual species in the areas?
‘I didn’t come across any big surprises. However, I was able to observe breeding cases of the stonechat in the Vijlen valley and at the archery grounds in Epen, a nice bird that is not common in southern Limburg, but has been on the rise in recent years. There was also a suspicion that little owls were present at the militia grounds in Epen because of the many pollard willows, but with evening monitoring I was able to establish that this was not the case. I did hear a calling little owl in a standard orchard, quite some distance from the drilling site.’
What happened to the survey results?
‘Based on my research, I made a recommendation to the project office. Although my preference is to carry out work outside the breeding season, it is not realistic to shut everything down for six months. There are several precautionary measures to ensure that nature is disturbed as little as possible. These include shielding the drilling site and only working during the day to avoid light disruption. The project office has adopted these recommendations. The drilling at the Vijlenerbos car park was postponed to mid-September in consultation with Staatsbosbeheer and the province due to the breeding season. This was not necessary, but better to minimise the chance of disturbing breeding birds. Two weeks before the start of each drilling, I visited each area for a final check to release it.’
What do you yourself think of the Einstein Telescope project?
‘Very honestly, I don’t really have an opinion about it. I do find the geological surveys very interesting. And áf the telescope is built here, I obviously hope that even then nature will be affected as little as possible.’
Want to take a look at a drilling site? On 10 October ‘24, there will be a viewing event at the drilling site car park Vijlenerbos.