Even though the southeastern region of Brussels is characterised by intensive urbanisation, it still contains vast forested and rural landscapes located on the rich loamy soils of the Brabant Massif.

This field trip explores the Sonian Forest, a remnant of about 5000 ha of the vast Silva Carbonaria (Charcoal Forest) that stretched from the North Sea to the Rhine River. In the Middle Ages, the Dukes of Brabant maintained it as a private hunting ground. In the 18th century, it was transformed into a "beech cathedral" forest. Today, it is managed by three regions of the federal state of Belgium, is part of one of the Flemish National Parks, and serves as a unique ‘green lung’ - combining biodiversity and heritage - at only 10 km from the centre of the European Capital. The village of Hoeilaart developed in a clearing of this forest and became a residential suburb.
Next, we cross the Brabant loess-plateau, with its vast open-field agricultural landscape, and take a quick look at the battlefield of Waterloo (1815), where Napoleon I's defeat changed the map of Europe entirely. More to the south, rivers eroded deep and disclosed the geologic base of the Brabant Massif. Here we visit the ruins of the Abbey of Villers-la-Ville, a former Cistercian abbey and one of Wallonia's outstanding heritage sites. Further south, we cross the Sambre-et-Meuse industrial valley and enjoy a panoramic view over the industrial conurbation of Charleroi. Before continuing to Spa, we follow the Sambre valley to Namur, the capital of the Walloon Region, to study the site of the city.

Since the early 19th century, the landscapes along the rivers Haine, Samber and Meuse have been intensively transformed by coal mining. Historical agricultural landscapes rapidly changed into an industrial region, with associated urbanisation typologies and infrastructures. Now the region has a rich industrial past, specific landscapes, working-class neighbourhoods, and a profound socio-economic transformation following the closure of the mines.

This field trip discovers the first impact of the Industrial Revolution on the European continent in the early 19th century. The Borinage and the Centre, situated between Mons and La Louvière (Walloon region, province of Hainaut), were the cradle of the fourth-largest coal-mining-based industrial development in the world. From the 1820s on, the rural landscapes have been wiped away entirely, and this area has changed drastically due to the Industrial Revolution, driven by coal mining development and the production of coal and steel. In a short period, the agricultural landscape transformed into a dense industrial area. New industrial sites, sophisticated and adapted transportation infrastructure (railways and canals), and newly designed towns and urban development were built. The misery and hard life of the coal miners were depicted by Vincent Van Gogh, who worked as a pastor in the community. In the 1960s, coal mines were closed, and the associated industry and transportation infrastructure became obsolete and derelict. The region is still struggling to regain a sustainable economic and ecological reconversion. We visit some of the ‘Major Mining Sites of Wallonia’ that were listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 2012, and we will walk along the old canals with hydraulic ship elevators and look for the area's reconversions and revitalisation.

The landscapes of Hesbaye, one of Belgium’s main productive agricultural regions, extend across loamy plateaus, creating fertile conditions for diverse crops. Often divided into two subregions based on the geological substrate, creating a gradient from the northern “humid” Hesbaye to the southern “dry” Hesbaye, the first agricultural activities date back to the Neolithic period, and its landscapes still produce a diversity of products.

When arriving in Hasbeye, this field trip will first visit the open-field landscapes in the southern part around Hoegaarden and Tienen. The focus on arable farming and the production of grain and sugar beets made towns more important. Due to Hoegaarden's enclave status, it was an excellent location for beer production in the 18th century, and it is now internationally known. A short stop in Vechmaal will illustrate the nuances of landscape characteristics in relation to the biophysical context and provide an example of a local marl quarry. When driving northwards, the fruit belt producing apples, pears and cherries characterises the landscapes. In Borgloon, the capital of the Count of Loon until the 14th century and now the cradle of the fruit syrup production, we will visit the renovated historic syrup factory that tells the history of this local food production. A walk through the orchards will pass by some examples of land art in the agrarian landscape. The importance of the Roman period for the region is evident in Tongeren, one of Belgium's main Roman cities, where several relics are still visible in the centre. Since the end of the 20th century, vineyards have been established on the gentle slopes where the loamy soils contain marl and chalk. The castle of Genoels-Elderen is one example of a site where viticulture dates back to Roman times. Before arriving in Spa, the field trip will pass the chalk land along the Meuse valley and cross the river Jeker.

Exploring the landscapes of Hesbaye (Haspengouw in Dutch) goes together with crossing multiple boundaries. The historical territories in the Middle Ages were fragmented. The Flemish-French linguistic border was quite diffuse and shifted over time, becoming sharper only for political reasons in the 1960s. The fertile, loamy plateaus lead to open-field landscapes and numerous historical villages.

This field trip will cross the linguistic and historical borders of the southern part of Hesbaye and illustrate how these boundaries affect landscape development over time. For example, the territorial structure and fragmentation of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the Duchy of Brabant, and the County of Loon resulted in different relationships among settlements. We will visit the historic village of Meldert, dating back to the 13th century and home to two generations of castles. The agricultural open-field landscapes around Hoegaarden will be explored in detail, focusing on the historical development of this traditional landscape and the current challenges in agriculture, land consolidation, and nature protection. The journey will continue to Sint-Gitter (in the municipality of Landen), founded in the 7th century and the cradle of the Carolingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish Empire. When driving further eastwards, the basic model of the historical villages in the open-field landscapes can be studied in Limont. After passing Tongeren, the excursion will end in Alden Biesen, one of the former Land Commanderies of the Teutonic Order. Founded in the 13th century, it became the centre of power and religious influence until the French Revolution. The site is now managed as a heritage site of the Flemish Region.

This field trip explores how water management practices shape the landscapes. It illustrates how historical landscape structures influence runoff dynamics and help mitigate flooding and drought, while considering nature restoration goals and heritage values across plateaus and valleys.

The Hesbaye loamy plateau, cultivated since Roman times, is now one of Belgium’s intensive agrarian landscapes. Several locations were used for sugar beet refineries, for example, in Hologne-sur-Geer, where one of the former decantation basins has been transformed into a nature reserve, in a region where high soil permeability limits surface water availability and intensive agricultural practices restrict wildlife habitats. Further east, the trip follows the densely populated valley of the Vesdre, which developed during the 19th century through the metal and wool industries. In Pepinster, heavily affected by the catastrophic floods of 2021, reconstruction efforts focus on widening the river corridor. The watershed-scale analysis of drainage systems has informed a strategic plan to mitigate future flooding risks and has highlighted the interdependence between the plateau and the valley. The field trip continues to the Pays de Herve plateaus, a bocage landscape established in the 16th century and includes a visit to the Cistercian Abbey of Val-Dieu. Over the past century, this area has undergone significant transformations, including coal mining, peri-urban development along motorways since the 1960s, and agricultural modernisation, all of which have contributed to increased runoff. The field trip concludes on the Ardenne plateau, characterised by extensive forests and peatlands. Here, the Parc Naturel des Sources is implementing measures to enhance water retention, including deciduous reforestation, blocking drainage systems, and creating ponds.