The Steveraue Olfen is a renaturalized floodplain landscape and a local recreation area in the north of Olfen in North Rhine-Westphalia in the district of Coesfeld.
The Steveraue area stretches to the left bank of the Stever from the Alte Fahrt of the Dortmund-Ems Canal in the east to Kökelsumer Straße with the Füchtelner Mühle in the west. The development of Olfen is the southern border of the area.
Until the reconstruction, the area up to the river bank was used intensively for agriculture. Users were offered the opportunity to exchange areas for areas in the Esch as part of an area pool. The project was triggered by the high need for compensation for the designation of new building areas and the need for a recreation area close to the city.
The terraces and valley sands of the Stever close to the groundwater are important floodplains to relieve the pressure during floods. The river was given a wider bed by removing the bank reinforcements and building bank berms. Two old branches of the Stever were regenerated, a flood channel was created to flow around the Füchten mill, and various channels and still waters were initiated.
Since 2002, the approximately 80-hectare Stever meadow has no longer been used intensively for agriculture. Heck cattle, Konik horses and donkeys graze semi-wild and keep the areas open. After just one year, 30 newly established wild plants were found in the control areas of the project.
To ensure acceptance of the project, intensive public relations work was carried out with letters to citizens, information evenings, setting up information boards in the area and a biotope mapping for later success monitoring. The hiking and cycling trails "around Olfen" lead through the floodplain landscape. There are tourist attractions such as viewpoints and catering on the edges.
The project was financed through funds for compensatory measures and funding from the district government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.