Networking project

Long lead time

For several years, the Pfyn-Finges Nature Park has been campaigning for winegrowers to benefit from more contributions for their ecological services. It took many meetings, clarifications and discussions before the basic studies financed by the nature park could be drawn up. In the end, a networking project was launched across the three municipalities of Salgesch, Varen and Leuk, in which 36 farmers are involved.

In order to receive the networking contributions from the canton, it was stipulated as a major measure when concluding the contract with all winegrowers that one bladder bush would be planted per 1,000 m2 of vineyard area. The bladder bush provides the most important nectar and breeding resource for the bladder bush blue, a Mediterranean butterfly species that can only be found on the dry slopes of central Valais in Switzerland.

Lucky Laura Bosco

Biologist Laura Bosco did both her master's and doctoral theses in the vineyards of Valais and knows the area and the vines of the Pfyn-Finges Nature Park inside out. She was therefore employed by the Swiss Ornithological Institute and the Pfyn-Finges Nature Park for an initial period of two years to help the winegrowers with the ecological enhancement of the vineyards. In the fall of 2018, she planted around 800 bubble bushes in the vineyards of interested winegrowers with the help of community service workers and interns. They will benefit twice over: they will later receive additional payments via the networking contributions and the necessary measures were implemented free of charge.

Not just rays of hope

Unfortunately, not everyone understood that this major financial and personnel commitment by the Pfyn-Finges Nature Park and the Ornithological Institute was primarily for the financial benefit of the winegrowers, in addition to promoting biodiversity. For example, some bladder bushes were maliciously uprooted and stolen after planting. It is to be hoped that this remains an unfortunate isolated incident.

Dry stone walls

Landscape-defining dry stone walls

Several dry stone walls were partially destroyed by the heavy and persistent rainfall in winter 2017/2018. The Pfyn-Finges Nature Park provides financial support to the owners if they can rebuild the walls (or have them rebuilt) in a professional and ecologically sound manner. Dry stone walls provide an attractive and important habitat for many animal species (e.g. lizards, wild bees, butterflies), but also characterize the landscape of the Valais vineyards as an old cultural asset. Therefore, wherever possible, destroyed stone walls should be restored to prevent them from being replaced by banal and ecologically worthless concrete walls. Several dry stone walls have already been restored in the past year. If you have also suffered damage and would like to have it professionally repaired, please contact us.

The most important means of communication

Our (cultural) landscape is so unique and beautiful that it has been awarded the label "Regional Nature Park of National Importance" by the federal government. The measures described above and others are intended to ensure the preservation of these values in the vineyards and beyond. Even today, winegrowers are proud of our unique, authentic (vineyard) landscape in contact with their customers and therefore need it as one of their most important means of communication - and we want to keep it that way in the future!