The Maison de la nature, a former farmhouse known as the "Kräizhaff" or Schnappshaff, was built in the 1820s in Kockelscheuer, on the territory of the municipality of Roeser.
In the 1970s, the site was acquired and renovated by the City of Luxembourg. It was not until 1994 that the Maison de la nature and its surrounding grounds were made available to the nature activities department of the City of Luxembourg's education service, natur&ëmwelt a.s.b.l., and the Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur.
Today, the Maison de la nature serves as a center for documentation, information, awareness-raising, and education on sustainable development and nature conservation.
The Kalborn Mill, located in the Our Valley, was first mentioned in records in 1728. Initially a manorial mill belonging to the lords of Clervaux, until the First World War the Kalborn Mill operated as a mobile mill, meaning the miller traveled through the surrounding villages with his horse-drawn cart to collect grain. It was only in the mid-19th century that the mill was expanded and equipped with three millstones, after which farmers brought their grain to be ground directly at the mill. During the Second World War, the German occupation brought the mill's operations to a halt, and it never resumed commercial use. However, the mill continued to be inhabited until 1982.
In 1997, the Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur purchased the mill and converted it into a breeding and biological research station for the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera), which has become rare and severely endangered. Today, the renovated buildings of the Kalborn Mill house the Water Discovery Centre (WEZ), the freshwater mussel breeding station, and the Natura 2000 room.
Supported by the municipality of Clervaux from the very beginning in 1998, the Northern Antenna was established to be as close as possible to our major nature reserves, such as the one in Cornelysmillen.
Initially located in Munshausen, and later in Heinerscheid, the Northern Antenna is now based in Marnach inside a municipal building. It serves as an information center and, above all, as offices for all of the Foundation's environmental projects implemented in the north of the country.
In Schwebsange, along the banks of the Luxembourg Moselle, the Fondation Hëllef fir d'Natur took over, via a donation at the end of 2009, the Mediterranean garden created over the previous 30 years by Charles Roovers and Dieter Lingener.
In 2012, the former small barn was renovated and now serves as a cold storage facility in winter for potted plants, while remaining available to garden visitors and center activities during the summer. The upper floor houses the center's offices as well as a reference library containing horticultural literature, which is also open to visitors.
The ecological culture center is a welcoming hub for visitors and garden enthusiasts, where numerous activities are organized throughout the year.
