"We are so close to the city. It's logical that we look for the connection."

Tilburg is a city of not dicks but polishes. A city of feet in the clay. We tackle what needs to be tackled. Good, green ideas find their way. In the city and its surroundings, this can be seen and tasted. Regional products are there for the taking. For the Nature on Your Plate series we put on our boots and go exploring in four green areas in and around Tilburg. Areas that give the city and its inhabitants light, air and space. In this episode: Stadsbos013.

The Oude Warande, Vredelust, the Blaakbos, the Reeshofbos, the outlying area southwest of the city: Stadsbos013 is a colorful patchwork of meadows, farms, forests and parks, connected by bicycle paths, highways, hiking trails and a maze of dedicated mountain bike trails. On your tour through Stadsbos013, be sure to take a basket for all the local produce you'll find in this area, for example at Groeituin013 and dairy farm Nieuwelijn. Straight from nature onto your plate and into your glass.

Special tomatoes

Okay, an express train regularly passes by, but other than that, it is good to be at Groeituin013. The garden moved to the Reeshofdijk two years ago, after the temporary location at Piushaven had to be cleared out. An improvement it is, especially in the amount of land. Seasonal vegetables grow and bloom here, and are for sale in the garden's store, among other places. Theo Sanders, gardener from the very beginning, is especially proud of the tomato project. "From everything we grow: size cherry to size soccer. And a lot of them are unknown varieties, right? Black, green or deep red, with the most beautiful flavors. Last year, Auberge de Bonheur even had a special dish on the menu with one of our varieties." Organic cultivation, taking good care of people and animals, is paramount at Groeituin013. And the former is not so easy with those special tomatoes. "Of the varieties we grow, there is often no organic seed. And they have to be, for certification. That's why

Photo Theo Sanders

Hortus biodiversicus

The garden is busy. Students from Yuverta's green vocational training program are putting spades in the ground, volunteers are harvesting vegetables for the store. Organic pigs Kaatje, Katootje, Katrien and Katinka wallow through the mud and gorge themselves on their bowl of organic feed, supplemented with vegetable leftovers from their own cultivation. The garden will change considerably in the coming years. There will be a food forest, the temporary shelters of the office and store will make way for an authentic Flemish barn, and a hortus biodiversicus - including a pond, a worm hotel and medicinal, cosmetic and culinary herbs - is also planned. And for those looking for inspiration for good, green planting for their city garden: Groeituin013 - in consultation with housing association Tiwos - has set up a number of examples. For those curious about developments, "Feel free to drop in. If the gates are open, you are welcome. Even outside the store's opening hours. I'm happy to tell you about what we do here."

Fresh milk

A few kilometers away, on the other side of the railroad and Bredasweg, lies dairy farm Nieuwelijn. Signs along Gilzerbaan invite cyclists and motorists to Melktap013, part of the dairy farm, where they can fill their own bottles with loeiverse milk. "Unprocessed, just filtered, stirred and cooled," says farmer's son Jari Swolfs. A year ago, the tap was installed. Why really? "Simple," he answers. "We are so close with our business to the city. So it's logical that we look for that connection a bit more." Most of Nieuwelijn's milk goes - hup - into the refrigerated trucks bound for Campina. "We run this company with great heart for nature, people and animals. But you can't see that when you buy a carton of milk. So with the milk tap we also want to show: this is our company, this is what we are proud of. And we like to tell about it."

Photo: Jari Swolfs

More of the region

Vast, hell-green and clover-rich fields with brown, black and spotted cows: a more Dutch picture than here at Nieuwelijn, in the middle of Stadsbos013, is hardly possible. For those in the know: here you spot crosses between Holstein Friesian, Jersey, and Brown Swiss cows, such as a sturdy black cow with brown ears that curiously approaches the interviewer during the interview. The cow's coat shines in the bright autumn sun, something Jari says indicates good health. "The cows change pastures every day, where they eat grass with clovers supplemented with various herbs here and there. This is good for milk production and for nature. You can also encounter their calves in a field further up here in the City Forest, near Villa Vredelust." As a successor, Jari dreams aloud about the future of the farm. Selling milk directly to Tilburgers, as they already do with the milk tap, tastes like more as far as he is concerned. A wider assortment is also part of the picture: cheese, yoghurt or quark perhaps? Plans for meat packages, intended for sale in the region, are at an advanced stage. "We are happy to cooperate with other entrepreneurs in the region for this. So whoever wants to: contact us. That way, together we will make sure that you can not only see, smell, and hear this beautiful area, but also taste it."