A new 2.3-kilometre walking route, which runs past the monument and along the Deurzerdiep, starts at the Huis van de Drentsche Aa information centre and Bistro Aa in Deurze. The route is part of the network of numbered walking junctions, and seven organisations worked on it, including the nature education organisation IVN, the National Park, Geopark De Hondsrug, the municipality and the province.
From Monday 14 July to Monday 25 August, primary school children can pick up a word puzzle at Bistro Aa to solve along the way. Those who finish it get a token for an ice cream at the bistro.
With this designation, Drenthe now has fourteen geological monuments. The province designates such places because they show how ice, wind and water shaped the landscape, and in this way it wants to introduce more people to the history of Drenthe's soil.
A stream valley system consists of streams and the landscape around them. According to the province, the Drentsche Aa's is one of the best preserved in Western Europe, and the area is among the oldest continuously inhabited parts of the Netherlands. Most of it lies within the Drentsche Aa National Park and De Hondsrug UNESCO Global Geopark. Part of it is also a Natura 2000 site and belongs to the Natuurnetwerk Nederland, the national network of nature areas, which gives it extra protection.
“By designating the Drentsche Aa stream valley system as a Geological Monument, we are showing how special the ground beneath our feet is. It deserves attention and protection,” says Jumelet.
Representatives of the UNESCO audit committee also attended the unveiling. They were in Drenthe that week for the evaluation of Geopark De Hondsrug, which takes place once every four years.