Renatured Boye in the Westerwiesen

As the second-largest tributary of the Emscher, the Boye River also long served the same role as many rivers in the region, resembling a slurry basin. This has changed significantly in recent years, and since 2023, almost its entire length can be cycled, with the wind in your hair and fresh air in your nose.The Emscher bullhead isn't the only one that has waited decades for this transformation. Since the Emscher estuary into the Rhine has also become barrier-free for fish, herons and other birds are once again finding food here.A little further upstream from here, the Hahnenbach River flows into the Boye River; its renaturation was completed in 2011. The water trail explains the impact on people and nature: eglv.de/emscher/pilotprojekt-unser-hahnenbach

I grew up on the Boy all my life and the transformation from a dumping ground to a biotope is beautiful.

I consider the Boye River renaturation project, initiated by the Emschergenossenschaft in 2018 and expected to be completed in 2023, particularly successful here in the Westerwiesen. From a new bridge, you have a sweeping view on both sides of the revitalized Boye River in its natural bed.